Tie Me Down
by themightypookums
Summary: Everyone has a secret. Whether it's big or small, everyone has something they're hiding. Keith's life is run by his secrets which will inevitably catch up to him. They are his oldest friend. They've left him cold and cynical about life but his perspective starts to change when new faces come into his life and show him that secrets can be so much more than something to fear.
1. Chapter 1: Yield

**"So Keith, how did it all start?"**

 **"Do you want the short version or the long version?"**

 **"The long version, of course."**

 **"Then you better get ready, because we're going to be here a while."**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Yield**

Loud screeching overlapping roaring engines pierced the quiet midnight air through the streets of the city. Revving motors bounced off the tall buildings and long factories to echo through the downtown district of the city. The three racing cars riding bumper to bumper whipped dangerously around the corner through the red light to dodge around the cruising Toyota. Tires squealed against the pavement as the vehicles weaved back and forth, battling each other to get ahead as they ducked between lanes before disappearing around another corner. The red Honda stuck in second place drifted around the corner, sliding into the front position with utmost precision to get ahead of the black BMW before speeding down the road. The Honda dodged around the cruising sedan, using the oncoming traffic lane to barely get by without scratching up the sides of the crimson paintjob. Horns blared angrily from the oncoming pickup truck that was so narrowly missed from a head-on collision.

The BMW was catching up to the front spot again with the purple Ford close behind it along the long stretch of road. The Honda was speeding up to a dangerous speed as it approached the next corner. It whipped in front of the regular hatchback that slammed on its brakes to avoid colliding with the reckless driver. The Honda hit the corner. Speed and velocity had it leaning dangerously but it couldn't keep a grip on the pavement. Its tires lifted and it was in an uncontrolled spin across the blacktop. It was unavoidable to slam into the side of a moving van, sending it spinning across the lanes to finally stop when it came crashing against the solid lamppost. Pieces of metal scattered across the pavement as the car wrapped around the solid post, smoke bellowed out of the crumpled up nose.

"What the hell were you thinking?" the pacing man shouted in the hospital room. A nurse with a patient both paused just outside the open door before quickly moving on to avoid whatever was going on. Shiro slid his hand through his dark hair with the front a pure white. It was an unusual look that reminded everyone who saw him of a skunk, but only those close to him ever actually told him that. "You are lucky things ended up the way it did. You could have hurt someone else, or you could have ended up leaving the scene in a body bag!" he continued to shout loudly. His harsh voice bounced off the walls of the small room that seemed even smaller with the heavy tension that loomed like a dark cloud along the ceiling.

"Shiro," Adam dragged on from his seat in the armchair in the corner of the room. He was flipping lazily through a thin magazine as if he was completely uninterested in any of the contents inside but he had to keep his hands busy with something. He paused briefly to push his glasses up his nose before continuing with the mindless page flipping.

"Do you want that? Do you want me to have to show up one of these days and instead of you being cuffed in the back seat of a police cruiser, you're being shoved into the back of a hearse?" Shiro snapped. The words were like knives that made Adam stop and his eyes shot up over the top of the thin pages. Shiro had stopped pacing to face the bed next to the large window that let in the streaky yellow sunlight. His face was twisted in anger and frustration that reflected the emotion that burst through his voice. "Keith! Answer me!"

The younger man sitting on the edge of the bed didn't look up even though his body visibly twitched at the harsh tone used against him. His dark, ebony hair was long and tousled in a heaping mess from being bedridden for so long. A small bandage was stuck to his forehead over the wound just above his right eyebrow. His left arm was wrapped in a bandage from above his elbow to his wrist to cover the burns and deep stitched up gouges that ran all along his forearm.

"Alright," Adam spoke up in a low tone. He was trying to keep it flat as he dropped the magazine on the small table next to him. "Shiro. Honey," he said losing a bit of control over his tone as he stood to walk over. His hands found their way on the darker haired man's cheeks to force his attention over. Intense grey irises met with pleading brown desperately trying to communicate silently so that he didn't have to say the words out loud. "I think you need to take a break. Why don't you get some coffee?"

"Adam, I don't want coffee," Shiro snapped with a slight hiss to his voice that he immediately regretted when he was met with a high arched eyebrow. He cleared his throat loudly as he relaxed his tense expression.

Adam let his eyebrow drop a bit. "For me. Go get a coffee for me," he said with a small, tight grin. Shiro inhaled with his mouth open as if he were going to speak but quickly snapped his lips shut as he exhaled sharply. Adam gently patted his cheek before he turned to leave the room in a huff of soft muttering words. "Well, you can feel accomplished knowing that no one else on this planet sends him into that kind of a spiral except you," Adam explained, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he turned to face Keith who was still staring at the floor. "That man has done whatever he can to keep you out of trouble. He has lied and put his job on the line for you but you know he can't save you this time."

"I know," Keith finally said. The response was quick and short. His hands were gripping tightly onto the fabric of the baggy white pants he was wearing so his knuckles dug into his knees. His entire body was one tense bundle of nerves.

Adam lifted his hand to push his glasses back up his nose again like if he had them in the right spot then he'd be able to see inside Keith to whatever was rattling around inside his head. "You know he could have turned a blind eye, but you could have hurt someone. Hell, you did hurt someone. Look at yourself, Keith," he explained and gestured all of the bandages that covered Keith on his face, arms, and torso. "Maybe now you'll finally learn a lesson."

Keith scoffed loudly. "What lesson?" He finally lifted his head to ask. His thick eyebrows were shifted together quizzically to form an expression that was less than amusing and made Adam frown deeply.

"Oh, I don't know," Adam replied sarcastically with a sharp shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe the lesson that your life is worth more than some cheap thrills and a quick buck. Let's start with that, shall we?"

Keith made a sound that was somewhere crossed between another scoff and tutting. His eyes were back on the floor as he lifted his hand that had two of his fingers taped together to rub the back of his neck. "You know, you're not really very helpful when it comes to the whole helping people get their lives on the right track," he explained flatly.

"I am aware. You've told me, Shiro's told me, I'm pretty sure a few other people in my life have told me," Adam replied with a small grin that was oddly unsettling but also soft and caring. "But here's the thing, me being sensitive to your feelings doesn't change the fact that nothing is going to get better if you continue doing what you're doing," he explained and the harsh truth made Keith shift uncomfortably. "What do you get out of it? Nothing. I'm not going to baby you and hold your hands here, Keith. You screwed up and now you have to deal with it. So, take the yelling, take the punishment, do it gracefully, and then move on."

The judge slammed his gavel a few times against the wooden block to catch everyone's attention from their scattered conversations. Everyone in the room stood, except for Keith who was staring off in a daze. His leg was bouncing rapidly as his only way to control his nerves that needed to go somewhere or else he might explode. Shiro was standing behind the wooden railing in the audience with Adam. He noticed Keith and opened his mouth slightly to call out but stopped himself when Adam suddenly grabbed his arm as the man next to Keith gently nudged his shoulder to snap him out of his blank stare.

"I have come to a decision," the judge started to say to the room. He scratched at his short, wiry beard as he stared down at his desk. Keith quickly pushed himself up to his feet and almost knocked over his chair but quickly caught it before it disrupted the pause the judge was allowing to fill the room with tense silence. Keith's legs were like jello underneath him. He had to keep his hands pressed against the table to brace himself. "Under the circumstances of a first time offender, I have decided to wave jailtime and instead invoke parole with mandatory counselling sessions. The defendant will meet with his counsellor once a week and any illegal offense he partakes in will result in immediate jailtime with no possibility of bail." The sound of a heavy, relieved sigh behind Keith made his shoulders loosen instantly. His foggy mind was struggling to understand what the hell was going on, but a relieved sigh meant good. "For the time being, the defendant's vehicle will remain impounded by the city until the assigned parole counsellor deems the defendant fit to finish their parole," the judge added and finally looked up. He removed his small glasses and turned his attention directly to Keith whose body straightened with his heavy tension. "Do you understand these terms, Mr. Kogane?"

Keith wish he had been paying attention more but he wouldn't admit that he was too worried to really focus on the man's words instead of resorting to distorting his voice like the adults from the Charlie Brown cartoons. He nodded slowly. "I understand, sir," he said in a low, grim voice.

"Good, your first appointment with your parole counsellor is scheduled in three days at four pm. Is that suitable to your schedule, Mr. Kogane?" the judge asked.

Keith nodded again. "Yes sir," he answered.

"Excellent. Further details will be given to you at the end of this court meeting in the form of a written document issued by the state and signed by myself." The judge let the silence return as he was writing something quickly before he leaned forward in his seat to cross his arms in front of him. "There is just one last thing I want to say, Mr. Kogane, and I want you to listen to me very carefully," the man started and set down his shiny metal pen. "I want you to think of this as a second chance. Everyone gets one. Sometimes second chances come in obscure forms that make it easy to miss but your second chance is as plain as it can come. So, it's up to you to decide what to do with it. I am going to advise that you do something good with it. Take this chance and make things right."

The ringing in Keith's ears hit hard with the smack of the gavel against its wooden block partner. All of the stress and anxiety that had piled in his chest suddenly sank to his feet to completely obliterate any muscle on the way. He had to sit or else he would have ended up on the floor a pitiful mess. _A second chance_ , he thought to himself as he sat back in the leather chair to let his fingers tap anxiously against the arm. _A second chance for what?_

Shiro stood at the end of the hallway staring down at the closed door. He had been standing there for far too long with his arms crossed stiffly over his chest as he tapped his fingers impatiently against his bicep. The second hand on the clock behind him ticked loudly over the sound of the television where a narrator with a British accent talked about Emperor Penguins from the documentary. "Shiro," Adam said from the couch where he was watching the television, "you're stewing."

Shiro exhaled sharply but didn't move from his spot. He was shifting his weight frequently from one leg to the other but he couldn't seem to move his feet that likely had left an indent in the carpet from how much time had passed. "I don't know what to do," he said quietly. "He hasn't come out of his room once all day. He's been in there since we got home from the courthouse yesterday," he explained without taking his eyes off the door with the poster of five meteors raining down on the Earth's horizon with the sun setting far in the distance. "He hasn't eaten anything. He's barely said a word to us. He's just...moping. I've never seen him mope like this before."

Adam sighed loudly. He tilted his head back to lean it against the head of the couch as said, "Can you blame him?" He grunted as he paused to shift on the couch so he was leaning against the head with his chin resting on his arm. "It's not like he's had a very easy going week. He lost his one true love, pretty much was sentenced with house arrest, and broke his favourite middle finger all within a week."

Shiro sighed and rolled his eyes, ignoring the obvious joke that Adam made that he couldn't help but grin at. "I know, okay Adam. But he just can't sit in there all day. He can't dwell over what happened."

"Says the one lurking in the hallway," Adam muttered quietly which earned a questionable sideways glare from Shiro. Adam rolled his eyes and lifted his head. "Look, you just have to give him a little time. He'll come out when he's ready. The last thing he needs right now is you being all controlling and possessive."

"I don't act controlling and possessive," Shiro replied with an offended tone as his eyebrows shifted together. Adam's flat expression was everything Shiro needed. "Alright, fine, whatever." He sighed loudly through his nose. "I know, I get that, and I'm not saying that he has to come out here and spill all his guts to us or anything."

"Shiro," Adam dragged out the man's name with a soft tone. He was shifting on the couch again to reach out so he could grab Shiro's hand.

"I'm just saying that he can't sit in there and mope. He can't self-destruct just because things are a little rough right now. I'm just saying that he—," Shiro was explaining but stopped when Adam pulled him forward to press his hands against the dark-haired man's cheeks to make his lips purse.

"Shiro, stop," Adam said with a wide grin. He was insanely entertained with how well his plan worked. "I know you have no other choice but to worry about him, but you're going to blow a blood vessel and I really don't want to have to deal with that," he explained. Shiro rolled his dark eyes, it was the only thing he could do. "You have to give him time though. Time to work through what he's going through. Time to get a hold of what to do next. Once he figures out what to do, he'll come to us. So, the best thing for you to do right now is to go to work. I'll keep an eye on him."

"But-," Shiro struggled to start to say but stopped again when Adam leaned forward to kiss him softly.

"Stop being such a mom and go to work," Adam said and patted pouting Shiro's cheeks. "Go save lives and stop bad guys and be the big, strong hero that I fell in love with."

"Don't lie," Shiro said with a quizzically lifted eyebrow.

"You're right," Adam replied with a small shake of his head. "I fell in love with your butt."

Shiro let out a loud laugh that rumbled in his chest before he leaned forward to kiss Adam on the forehead. He left and Adam was standing in the kitchen of the apartment cutting vegetables. The television was muffled through the wall as he fixed the small snack for himself and overlapped the soft footsteps that trotted into the room. The soft nose that nuzzled against Adam's leg startled him. "Oh, hey Cosmo. Nice of you to finally emerge from your cave," Adam said down to the black German Shepherd standing next to him as he adjusted his glasses on his nose and the canine rubbed against his sweatpants. Adam grinned and then turned his head to see Keith standing in the doorway of the kitchen. His black hair was messy and his eyes were heavy with dark circles underneath. He was rubbing his eye as he tried to stifle a long yawn. "Wow, you look rough. Did you sleep at all last night?"

"That depends. Does blinking for long periods of time count as sleeping?" Keith asked bitterly in a tired grumbling voice as he stepped into the room to stand next to Cosmo.

Adam chuckled and rolled his eyes. "You sound like Shiro, and no, that does not count," he answered and sliced the sharp knife through the small pile of celery. "You need to sleep. Lack of sleep will lead to all sorts of health complications and it can be extremely hard to get back on a normal sleeping schedule if your body is too adapted to sporadic times."

Keith reached down to scratch his black canine's head as he let out a small grunt. Adam's knife sliced through the carrot with expert ease. "Oh it's fine, I'll just sleep when I'm dead," Keith explained quietly.

Adam stopped cutting for a moment to let out a heavy sigh. Keith reached up to open the cupboard in front of him, ignoring the blatant noise of annoyance the other man made. He pulled out the jar of peanut butter, set it on the counter, swiped a cut up piece of celery to pinch it between his teeth, and then slid down the cabinet to the floor with the jar of peanut butter in his hand. Cosmo curled up next to him with his long muzzle on Keith's leg as he used the inside of his thighs to open the jar. Adam looked down at the young man who was haphazardly dipping the piece of celery inside the peanut butter. It wasn't the strangest thing Adam had seen him do. The brunet man let out a soft, sharp sigh that was different from the last one. His expression had shifted from pinched eyebrows to solemn eyes with lips pinched in a thin line. "Keith, Shiro's worried about you."

Keith let out a sarcastic chuckle in response as he chewed on the peanut butter covered chunk of celery he bit off. "I think that's putting it mildly," he replied softly through the food in his mouth. He dipped the celery back into the jar to drag it through the thick substance in a wide circle.

"He tried his best to keep you out of trouble even though you refused to listen to him. Now, he can't do anything except sit back and watch you struggle with all of this," Adam explained. Keith swallowed so he could crunch into the celery stick again. Adam put down the sharp knife and wiped off his hands as he crouched down next to Keith and his shepherd. "Keith—"

"I didn't want this to happen. It's not like I thought, oh, slamming into that lamppost seems like a good idea," Keith said sarcastically with a dramatic roll of his eyes and scooped up more peanut butter. "But it's not like I can magically go back and stop myself from doing it, so I have to live with that. This all has nothing to do with you guys. It was my decision, my mistake, my responsibility."

"Alright, look, I get it, but I still want you to promise me something, Keith," Adam said and carefully lowered himself to sit as he ran his hand over Cosmo's soft fur. Keith looked over at him with narrowed eyes as he munched lazily on his peanut butter covered veggie. "Promise me you'll do as the judge said. Take this chance and make it right."

Keith exhaled slowly. _Easier said than done_ , he thought to himself as he buried his hand in the dark fur of his canine companion. He could hear the worry and care in the other man's voice. He knew that Shiro and Adam worried about him, almost to the point of intense anxiety, and he never could wrap his head around why.

"Yeah," Keith replied in a low voice. It wasn't exactly the most believable tone, but he had to say something under the intense gaze of Adam's almost gold coloured eyes. "I promise I'll try."

~/~

Keith let out a sharp sigh as he sat at his desk. His sleeping companion was curled on his bed as he scrolled through the social media page for the tenth time in the last hour. Nothing was updating. Nothing was new. Nothing. His life had been a steaming pile of nothing for the past two weeks. He was going stir crazy. He even resorted to cleaning just so he wouldn't lose his mind. Daytime television was a repetitive mess and he could only take Cosmo for so many walks before even the canine was bored with him.

Keith leaned back in his chair with a loud groan aimed towards the ceiling. He had been stuck in his room all day. It was spacious with pieces of clothing scattered haphazardly across the carpeted floor and the walls were covered in random posters, most of them car related but it was all starting to become all too familiar to him with how much time he spent staring at each wall. He was noticing small cracks he never noticed before and there was an odd dot in the far corner of the room near the ceiling that he swore moved anytime he started to look away. He couldn't erase the boredom. No matter what he did, he couldn't get away from it, and so he found himself constantly going back to the one thing he shouldn't have been going to because he had to keep it hidden from everyone. He was an addict and he needed a fix. He desperately needed to feel the rumbling of the engine and the force of him being thrown back against the driver's seat as he narrowly made it around obstacles.

His phone chimed from his bed, snapping him out of the deep thoughts that occupied the deep spaces of his mind. Cosmo's ears perked at the sound as his eyes slowly popped open. Keith quickly spun around his chair to launch himself up and onto the bed. The sudden jostling made Cosmo's ears lay straight back against his head as he let out a sharp sigh.

"Sorry buddy. Go back to sleep," Keith said as he quickly tapped his thumb against the screen on his phone. The shepherd didn't hesitate to listen and close his eyes again.

The message was part of a group conversation that sent a tingling sensation up and down his spine anytime there was a notification from it. His fingers moved quickly across the screen to open the app but the excited look was suddenly gone when Keith's lips instantly turned down into a frown as he scrolled through the text.

 _ **BoMb**_ _  
_ **V: So what the hell's happened to the perfect prodigy?  
I: Ya. Heard the little punk wrecked his car!  
V: #redwreck  
V: #pwned  
A: Grow the hell up!  
A: Don't you two have better things to do than talk shit?  
V: Oh, don't get so testy. We're just teasing.  
T: If only you could drive faster than you could run your mouths.  
I: Damn T. Harsh.  
V: Is Red too good to say anything to us?  
V: He's been a ghost for weeks now.  
A: He's resting. He'll be back.  
I: We wouldn't want the Prince to miss too much action.**

Keith dropped his phone beside him as he groaned loudly in the back of his throat. He flopped onto his back with his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose before he shifted them to rub roughly at his sore eyes. Sharp, stabbing pain was forming behind his eyeballs. His phone chimed again but it was different from the previous ones. He dropped his hand to stare at the ceiling. He knew he shouldn't have looked, but he couldn't help it. He sat up, his back pressed to the wall as he swiped his thumb along the screen of his phone to open the private message.

 **Ignoring your family, Kogane?** The message read. **Come on, we can tell when you've read the messages. You know Vrek and Ilun are nothing but talk. They just need an outlet for their own inferiority.**

Keith scoffed. **Some family. You guys left me to deal with the heat on my own.**

 **Hey, it's not our fault you're a cocky dick who slammed into a lamppost because you were showing off,** was the response after a small pause.

 **Bite me, Acxa.** Keith rolled his eyes. He was about to set his phone back down but it chimed again.

 **Come to the docks tonight. Your family misses you.** Keith stared at the broken heart emoji placed strategically at the end of the message. He was fidgeting when another message popped up. **I know you're worried you'll get caught but that has never stopped you before. Also, I can promise that Vrek and Ilun won't be there.**

 **I'll be there.**

Loud laughter suddenly pierced through the closed door of Keith's bedroom, sparking his and Cosmo's attention. Keith carefully slid off his bed, leaving his phone on top of his pillows, to walk over and open the door. The laughter was growing louder. Cosmo quickly trotted out past Keith as he moved down the hall to stop at the end. In the middle of the living room, Shiro was holding Adam over his shoulder as the brunet laughed wildly. Shiro was in his uniform with his hair a harshly tousled mess from work. Shiro suddenly froze when he met Keith's judging stare. Shiro looked tired. His naturally narrowed eyes had heavy bags underneath them which was normal for him, but had become increasingly worst lately. Adam was still flailing, not knowing about the sudden audience yet.

"Well, I have to admit that I'm glad this is not the worst thing I've ever walked in on you two doing," Keith finally said with a flat tone as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And definitely not the most mentally scarring either."

"Keith!" Adam said loudly as he kicked his feet. He was trying to get free but Shiro had a tight hold on his hips. Keith's eyebrow lifted quizzically as he tilted his head slightly but couldn't see the brunet hanging over Shiro's back. "Can you please tell him to put me down? This is incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassing!"

Keith shook his head frantically. His dark tendrils of hair swept over his forehead in soft swaying movements. "Nope, you're on your own here. I don't want to be involved," he replied with a small dismissive wave of his hand.

"I don't know why I even entertained the fact that you'd be helpful here," Adam grumbled in a low, irritated voice.

Shiro sputtered a sharp laugh. He finally let his attention leave Keith. He had been staring a bit too hard like he had seen a deer for the first time or something. "Easy now, honey. No need to get testy," he said and reached up to smack Adam's ass. The sound was loud through the living room over the sharp yelp that Adam made.

"Hey!" Adam shouted. Keith shivered noticeably in disgust. "Alright, if you don't put me down then you won't get any dinner."

"That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Shiro replied and couldn't hide the massive grin on his face if he even tried.

Keith looked confusingly at the clock. "It's eight o'clock," he said more to himself than to anyone else. He hadn't even noticed the time while he was hiding away in his room. He slept until past noon, which was becoming a regular thing with having nothing to do, and then mindlessly did anything to keep his attention until his eyes were too heavy to keep open. Time was irrelevant to him since he had nothing to look forward to.

Shiro finally set Adam down. "Yeah, well—whoa," Adam said as he stumbled a bit. The sudden shift threw him off balance as all the blood rushed out of his head. "You can blame Mr. Hero here for the late dinner," he finished as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Shiro who was moving towards the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Shiro responded with loud sarcasm as he stopped in the doorway to the kitchen to spin around. His muscular arms were crossed stiffly over his chest as he scowled heavily. The muscles in his biceps twitched like they were impatiently waiting to be used. "Next time I'll just let the bad guys get away. Screw the poor convenience store owners whose money was just taken from them!"

"People still steal from convenience store?" Keith asked with a low voice. "How cliché. Why doesn't anyone steal from like something no one would ever expect? No one's original anymore."

"Says the Fast and the Furious wannabe," Adam replied in a quiet voice that Keith heard but couldn't respond to quick enough before he was squeezing around Shiro to move through the kitchen doorway to disappear around the corner.

Dinner was simple spaghetti. Keith picked away at it but he couldn't help that his mind was elsewhere as Shiro chattered away about his day at work. Adam listened intently, as he always did, but Keith couldn't have been less interested if he tried. Bad guys. Intense pursuit. Guy guys catch the bad guy. Same old, same old. Keith was pushing around a meatball across his plate as he imagined the noodles as streets he had to maneuver through. His mind was one simple track that he couldn't jump off.

"Keith," Shiro's deep voice pierced through his thoughts.

"Huh?" Keith looked up to say.

Shiro's face was twisted with worry from across the table. Adam paused to look from Shiro to Keith. "Are you alright? You've been suspiciously quiet," he explained.

Keith felt like he was suddenly put on a pedestal and everything he did or said would be judged for something that he didn't know. It made him uncomfortable. He couldn't help but shift in his seat. "Oh? Yeah, I'm just tired," he explained and set his fork down as he pushed himself away from the table a bit. "I think I'm gonna go to bed," he grumbled as he stood with his plate. "Thanks for dinner, Adam." The brunet nodded slowly with a small smile but didn't speak.

Keith dropped the plate on the counter before he stepped out of the kitchen to disappear down the hall through the door with the comet poster tacked to it. He was thankful that he managed to get away without being drilled. Shiro and Adam had taken a large step back the last week. Keith was pretty sure they were tired of having to worry so they gave up. He wasn't sure why, but the thought made his chest tighten. He pressed his back against the door with a small sigh. He should have expected them to eventually give up caring. He wasn't necessarily making it easy. He waited for a moment before he moved across the room to flop backwards on his bed with a quiet grunt to close his eyes.

Even with the excitement making his body jittery, it didn't take him long to fall asleep but he also wasn't asleep for long before the alarm on his phone was beeping loudly from the pillow next to him. It was exactly midnight. The only light in the room came from outside created by the streetlights of the city that pushed through the cracks between the blinds to streak across the far wall in thin lines. When Keith cracked open his door he was met with silence and darkness. Adam must had been able to coax Shiro to bed at a reasonable time for a change. The man would have stayed up to an ungodly hour if he could have. Keith carefully stepped out of the room, pausing at the open doorway of the bedroom across the hall to listen carefully for the heavy snoring of Shiro mixed with Adam's soft breaths and occasional mumbling. The man talked in his sleep, which was amusing sometimes but when he started threatening people like a bank robber with a gun pointed to the hostages, Shiro and Keith knew that the man was not someone to screw with.

"Match made in heaven," Keith muttered quietly to himself at the two reasons he always kept his door shut at night. When he was satisfied with the familiar noises from inside the room he was moving again.

He continued down the hall to maneuver through the living room to the main door. The light from outside the window across the living room allowed him to find his shoes in the dark so he could slip before he reached for the handle of the door. His fingers wrapped around the smooth metal ready to open the door with extra care not to make any noise but he stopped when he felt a cold, wet nose press against his hand. The sudden touch made him jump as he quickly spun around to see Cosmo's form in the dark.

"You scared me," Keith hissed quietly. "I'll be back," he whispered as he gently patted the canine's head. "Don't tell them I'm gone, alright boy?"

He quietly shut the door behind him and was quickly stepping away as he lifted the hood of his sweater underneath his red jacket far over his head. The streets were busy with a different crowd at night than during the day. Drunk bar hoppers and college kids stumbled around the sidewalk with reckless abandon. Keith kept his head down as he weaved through the messy crowds, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. He just had to move further from the main streets where the crowds became thinner and the air turned quieter. He was heading in the direction of where the smell of fresh saltwater swept from between the large buildings. The sounds of soft lapping water grew with each block he passed by. It took him just over a half an hour to reach the wharf that stretched for blocks along the shore of the lake. He headed towards a large warehouse built to house boats that was blocked off by a tall chain-link fence with barbed wire at the top but a large pile of skids with a sheet of plywood next to them hid a cut out hole that Keith slipped through with ease having done it hundreds of times before.

From a distance, the warehouse looked completely abandoned but as he drew closer Keith could hear the heavy bass from the music inside the warehouse that rattled what was remaining of the windows that were boarded up from the inside by plywood and 2 by 4s where dim light peaked between small cracks. Keith approached the side door and carefully pushed it open. The broken chain rattled from the movement as he stepped inside. The warehouse was cluttered with three cars parked in the middle of it all and indistinct voices came from the metal balcony above. Keith climbed the creaky metal steps to the balcony where a makeshift lounge area of old, tattered furniture was being used by the four people trying to talk over the loud music.

"Hey! It's Crash!" the man across the space facing the top of the stairs said loudly when Keith came into view. It was amazing how quickly all of his anxiety and stress washed away the moment he was planted firmly on the balcony that was so familiar to him it was practically like a second home. "Long time no see there, buddy."

Everyone's attention was on Keith. He was on display but he didn't mind it. He laughed sarcastically as he rocked his head back and forth. "Very funny, Thace," he replied dryly to earn small laughter from the group.

"Oh, come on, don't be bitter," Thace replied with a sing songy voice. "We all missed you. Even bitter beans over there," he explained and pointed to his left to the man sitting in a makeshift bench of milk crates and lawn chair padding.

The man rolled his eyes dramatically before he spoke. "Is it such a good idea for you to be here?" he asked as he shifted slightly on his homemade bench.

"You worried he has a tracker up his ass or something, Regris?" Thace asked.

"I wouldn't put it past his den mothers," the man replied with a low grumble.

Keith scoffed softly. "My den mothers are fast asleep. They have no idea I'm even gone," he explained and walked over to sit in the empty questionable looking chair that may or may not have been able to hold his weight at a cursory glance but merely let out a strained groan underneath him.

"Where have you been the last two weeks?" Thace leaned forward to ask.

"House arrest. I'm on parole so I've got to stay as far away from trouble as possible," Keith explained with a sharp scoff. "It's ridiculous. Immediate jailtime if I'm caught doing anything illegal and they even impounded my car."

"They impounded Red? Well, when do you get her back?" the only female in the group, Acxa, asked from the long couch across the space from Keith. She seemed anxious and would pinch her bottom lip between her teeth when Keith met her gaze.

"Not until my assigned counsellor says so. She's this British chick with a really bubbly personality. I'm not worried though, I basically just need to make her think that I'm a changed man and that I have no intention of being a danger to society and she'll hand me back the keys," Keith explained smugly.

"And just how the hell do you intend on doing that?" Thace asked suspiciously.

"I just have to do what she says long enough. I'll agree with her nagging and pretend I'm living a better, crimefree life until she's satisfied enough to deem me no longer a menace to society. So I'll do whatever she wants until I get the keys to Red back and finally get the hell away from this city," Keith explained with a bitter tone.

"What do you have against this city?" Thace asked. "You've got your family here. Unless there's trouble at home with the den mothers."

Keith scoffed. "I've always been the outcast. The orphan who Shiro took pity on and has to take care of out of obligation more than anything else," he explained. "Trust me, he'll be glad when I'm finally gone from his life. No more living with the delinquent out to ruin his life."

"Wow, that's so sad," Thace said with a low tone. "In a pathetic sort of way, of course."

"As sympathetic as always," Keith replied sarcastically.

"Alright, enough," the man sitting next to Acxa finally spoke up. He had been quiet throughout the conversation and when he spoke he instantly had everyone's undivided attention. He was a larger man than everyone else and spoke with a fierce intensity that could make anyone show instant respect. "Do whatever the hell you need to in order to get back here to us. I need my best driver back. Do you understand?"

Keith pinched his lips together tightly as he nodded. "Yes, Kolivan," he replied in a flat tone.

"Good," the man growled and stood to leave the group. His heavy footsteps thumped down the metal stairs away from sight. Keith was tense in his seat. He felt an overwhelming guilt like he had let the monotone speaking man down.

"Hey," Acxa spoke up. Keith's attention slowly moved to her and she smiled half-heartedly like she was afraid he'd snap at the smallest bit of comfort. "We're all glad you're okay. Even him."

Thace hummed lightly as he rocked is head back and forth. "Well, as alright as you're capable of," he added in a low voice that made Keith shift his attention to glare at him.

"Screw off, Thace."

~/~

"So, Keith," the woman with unusual white hair tied up in a tight bun said as she shifted in her seat. She closed her notebook to rest it on her lap as she twisted her pen between her nimble fingers. The clock behind her head was ticking slowly. An hour was far too long but it was almost over. Just a bit longer. "We are coming to the end of our fifth session," she finished, each word highlighted by the accent she had.

"Only fifth?" Keith replied sternly from the middle of the loveseat. It was firm and uncomfortable but Keith didn't mind it since it was nothing compared to how uncomfortable he felt talking to the prying woman across the coffee table from him.

"Yep," she replied with a wide smile. "How do you feel?"

Keith was nodding slowly. "I'm feeling good. My arm doesn't hurt as much anymore." He explained as he lifted his hand to wiggle his fingers briefly before allowing his arms to return to being crossed tightly over his chest. "Plus, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about myself and what I want and I think I'm finally at a place where I'm happy with myself and the path I'm going down. I really feel like I'm getting my life together, you know? It's not easy, just like you said Dr. Allura, but I'm getting there. Step by step, day by day."

 _What absolute horseshit,_ he thought to himself and even the voice in his head had a smug tone that made him proud of himself.

The woman was smiling from across the space where only the coffee table and Keith's skepticism sat between them. There was something off about the counsellor's smile as she stared at Keith. She didn't move for a moment which made him incredibly anxious until he almost spoke but stopped when she suddenly sat forward to drop her notebook on the coffee table with a dull thud. "That has got to be the biggest pile of bullshit I've been fed in quite some time," she said bluntly, catching Keith completely off guard. It was almost as if she read it straight from his mind.

"I—I'm sorry?" he responded confusingly. The stutter was unexpected and made him silently curse himself.

"Keith, did you really think that you could tell me a couple of lies and get your car back so you could go back out and be street menace by the end of the week?" Dr. Allura asked bluntly. There was a shift in her usually sunshiny voice that made Keith nervous. She had never sounded so serious in the time he had known her.

"I—I don't—um—," he stammered. He was done for.

"You're on parole, Keith. That means your life is under a microscope. I have access to everyone you know. Shiro, Adam, and any friends you may have, even your racing buddies if I really want to get creative," the woman explained and sat back in her seat with her arms laid over the arms of the chair. "Shiro speaks very highly of your intelligence but says you lack discipline. Adam believes you have a very caring heart but you are too afraid to show it. Both observations fall very close with my own observations I've made over the last five sessions. You're a good person, you have an intelligent mind, and you have lots of potential to do great things. I can see you could be destined to do those great things with just a bit of hard work and determination. Overall, I can assess that you are a genuinely good human being but you lack reason. You lack the will to go out there and do anything with your life. Even now with your—we'll call it a hobby—taken away from you, you refuse to do anything. You sit at home boring yourself to death as if you think I'll miraculously give in to your quick wit and charm."

Keith rolled his eyes. He tightened his crossed arms over his chest as he sunk down further in the sofa. "What I lack is a shit to give about all of this," he muttered bitterly.

Dr. Allura's smile shifted along with her head that tilted the opposite way. "Good. I think that's actually the most genuine emotion I've managed to get out of you since the start of all this," she explained. Her smile grew on her face when Keith's dark eyes met hers which only annoyed him more. He scoffed and let his eyes roll again. "Alright. I see that the soft, easy-going nature is starting to wear away so let's try something else." There was a harshness to the woman's tone even though she was still smiling which made Keith even more nervous. "How about you tell me about your parents, Keith," Dr. Allura said bluntly.

It came completely out of left field and slammed into Keith like a freight train. His body tensed and his breath hitched in his throat. He was completely caught off guard. He immediately looked away from the bright blue eyes that actually had rings of unusual violet around the pupils. Anger formed on Keith's face when he finally managed to catch his breath. "That's none of your business," he growled bitterly.

"You're right, it's not, but I know that if you learned to open up a bit then you wouldn't feel the need to distance yourself from everyone around you like you do," she explained. Keith's shoulders shrugged up high as if he was thinking it would hide him. "I want to see real change in you, Keith. I want to see the walls you have built up torn down. I want to see you understand that you're not alone here. I want to see you care about yourself and your future. This is your new start in life and I'm not about to sit around and watch you let it go to waste."

"Why the hell is everyone so caught up on this second chance, new life crap?" Keith muttered quietly under his breath.

"What was that?" Dr. Allura asked pryingly.

Keith finally shifted his eyes back to look at her. Her eyes were wide and full of curiosity. Keith forced down the bundle of nerves that sat in his throat as he sat up, finding just a bit of bravery dug down deep in his chest. "Look, Doc, the thing is, you need to have a past in order to have a future. So, you're wasting your time here with me," he retaliated coldly but Dr. Allura didn't flinch. "I have no past which means I also have no chance of a future."

The white-haired woman sat forward again to rest her elbows on her knees as she threaded her fingers together. Her thin eyebrows were knitted together curiously as her head tilted forward slightly. The angling gave her a darkened expression as she stared up through her eyelashes at Keith. "Do you truly believe that?" she asked softly.

"I do," Keith snapped and was suddenly on his feet. "Just like I believe that this is all a big waste of time. You might as well just throw me in jail and leave me there because there's nothing else you're going to get from me."

Heavy footsteps thumped across the floor towards the door. "Are you afraid that if you show you care that you'll be abandoned again?" Another freight train blew through Keith. He stopped with his shaky hand on the handle of the door. He turned his head slightly but didn't meet the woman's gaze. "It's better to feel nothing than to feel excruciating pain, correct?"

Keith's heart was hammering in his chest. "You don't know anything," he managed to say quietly under his breath through the anger that was bellowing up in his throat.

"Of course I don't. I don't know exactly what your life has been like with two men in your life who so obviously care about you and want to see you have a long, happy life. I don't know you, Keith, but I do know that you are worth more than a dead end road before your life has even begun," Dr. Allura explained.

There was nothing else said. Keith knew that if he even tried that he wouldn't be able to keep his voice steady. He lost. Dr. Allura leaned back in her seat to allow Keith to leave, slamming the door shut behind him. The tension immediately broke away when there was something put between them, but that didn't stop the words from rattling around inside his mind as he tried to put as much distance between him and the woman.

"Where do you think you're going?" Adam asked from the doorway into the kitchen. Keith was putting on his shoes with his back facing the other man. He didn't say anything. He had raced home as quickly as he could to pack up whatever he could in a bag. He hadn't expected Adam to be home but it didn't matter. He couldn't stay. He couldn't deal with the tiptoeing and pity filled stares. He had to get away. "Keith, answer me."

"Enough, Adam," Keith growled quietly.

"Keith," Adam snapped. Keith ignored the obvious worried tone. He reached down for his bag sitting on the floor but was suddenly grabbed by the arm to be spun around. Adam's hands grabbed onto his shoulders to hold him firmly as fingers dug into his flesh. "Keith, stop! What are you doing? Why won't you talk to me? Tell me what's going on and I'll—"

"Don't," Keith snapped back and gave Adam a small shove against his chest as he took a small step back. His expression was stiff with frustration. "What do you think you're doing, Adam? Do you think you're my dad? Do you think you're my brother? Well, you're not. We're not family, so stop acting like you care."

Adam's eyebrow furrowed behind his glasses. "It doesn't matter what I am. It doesn't matter if we're family or not. What matters is that I care about you and I don't want to see you get hurt again."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore," Keith said as he reached down to grab his bag and then threw open the door. A phone started to ring from behind Adam. His eyes shifted behind his glasses and he was visibly torn. "Tell Shiro he can finally sleep knowing he doesn't have to worry about me anymore."

"Wh—What? Keith, what are you—?" Adam stuttered. His phone continued to ring loudly from the other room.

"You better get that. It's probably work," Keith replied dryly and stepped out of the apartment to let the door shut loudly behind him. He felt a wave of anxiety rush over him but he pushed it aside to start down the hall. With each step his heart slammed itself painfully against his ribcage. His hands tightened around the straps of his bag to the point his knuckles turned white. He couldn't get his head wrapped around his thoughts. There was a storm inside his brain that only calmed when he heard the familiar voice shout from back down the narrow hall.

"Keith!" Adam shouted. Keith stopped in his tracks. He wasn't sure why. His body reacted before he could. He spun around expecting anger or frustration or maybe even some confusion, but instead he was met with utter panic on the other man's face as he stood holding onto his phone with a shaking hand. His eyes were wide and watery. He was on the edge of crying. "Keith, it's Shiro."

Three words filled with so much angst and worry that completely flipped Keith upside down. He was suddenly racing through the streets in Adam's sedan as the brunet was trying desperately to reach anyone through his phone. It wasn't until they were standing in the middle of the hospital hallway facing a group of police officers that it all suddenly hit Keith. The officer that Keith recognized instantly carefully pushed through the small group and was moving towards him and Adam.

"Officer Iverson, what—what's—?" Keith was trying to say but his shaking voice made him stop. He couldn't push through it, no matter how hard he tried.

"He was pursuing some criminals who had broken into a jewellery store. A car racing through a red light clipped the back of his cruiser. He rolled. There was a lot of bleeding and the doctor is worried there may be some internal bleeding as well," the man explained calmly. It was the only way to keep Adam from bursting into hysterical sobbing that he had been holding back since the moment he got the call. "At this point in time, we don't know much more than that. But I want you both to know, we are here for you."

"Thank you, Iverson," Adam replied in a low voice as he slowly nodded.

They all waited in the small waiting room full of chairs and a television mounted in the corner playing an old cartoon. One of the officers was fast asleep in one of the chairs, Adam was holding onto a Styrofoam cup staring into its empty contents having finished it long before, Officer Iverson was pacing enough to leave a rut in the old carpet, and Keith couldn't take his eyes off the brunet in front of him who looked like he was struggling to keep himself together. They hadn't said anything since they left the apartment in a panicked rush even though there was so much to say. It was past one o'clock and everyone was getting antsy. Keith finally pushed himself up to his feet to step towards the brunet man.

"Adam," he said in a low voice. He reached out to touch his fingers against the Styrofoam cup as large hazel eyes looked up at him. "I'll get you some more water." The man nodded slowly and let go of the cup so Keith could take it away. The younger man took a step back but didn't move before he added, "He'll be alright." That earned a wide eyed look from Adam. "It's Shiro, he always pulls through."

Adam's eyes weren't as wide as he smiled from the one corner of his mouth. It was soft and he was still full of worry and angst, but there was a flicker of hope that made Keith's heart finally settle in his chest. The fountain was out in the hallway and poured out slightly chilled water into the Styrofoam cup. Keith rubbed his tired eyes with the knuckles of his hand. His eyes were heavy but he couldn't bring himself to sleep no matter how much Iverson ordered him to. He pulled the cup out from under the running water and was about to turn back to the room but stopped himself when he heard soft whispering from nearby.

"Keith," the voice hissed. His eyebrows narrowed together at the sound of the familiar voice calling out his name. He quickly turned his head to see Acxa standing at the end of the hall peaking around the corner.

"Acxa, what are you doing here?" Keith asked, his voice wasn't quite as quiet as hers as he moved down the hall towards her. "Why are you whispering?"

Acxa shook her head rapidly. "How's Shiro?" she whispered when he was only a few steps away.

Keith sighed softly. "I don't know. He's in surgery still. The doctor's been too busy to—," he was explaining but stopped himself abruptly. His face contorted into heavy confusion. "Wait, Acxa, how did you know Shiro was here?" The young woman visibly bit her bottom lip as she looked away. Keith's confusion quickly shifted to anger. "Acxa, why are you here?" Keith had taken a step forward. The sudden movement made Acxa's body tense.

"It was an accident," she blurted out and wrapped her arms around herself as if she was cold. "It was an accident, Keith."

"What was an accident?" Keith's hand twitched as he tried to hold back crushing the cup in his grip. "Acxa, what are you talking about?" he snapped and the girl's face darkened as she frowned heavily. Keith's entire body shivered. "Who hit him?" he asked bitterly.

"Keith—," Acxa said with a heavy sigh as she looked away. Her hair hid the solemn expression on her face.

Keith's free hand was suddenly grabbing tightly onto her arm. Her head quickly whipped around to stare up at him with wide eyes. "Who hit him?" he asked again, spacing out his words as he stressed each of them.

"Thace," she finally answered. "It was Thace, but he didn't mean to. It was an accident."

Keith's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did he stay?" he asked bitterly. The sharp hiss to his tone was full of venom. Acxa stammered incoherently over her words. "Did he stay or did he leave Shiro bleeding in the street? Answer the damn question, Acxa!"

"They would have arrested him! It would have been the third time, you know that. He couldn't stay," she explained all in one breath that left her panting heavily.

Keith scoffed as he slowly shook his head. He let go of Acxa's arm and took a large step back. "Get out of here, Acxa," he ordered quietly.

"No, I want to stay here. I want to make sure he's—," she started to say.

"Go away," Keith snapped, cutting her off. "I don't want you here and there are cops all over who are looking for someone to blame for this. Leave before I give you up as the scapegoat."

Tears formed before she could quickly turn away. She was a few quick steps away before she stopped. The sudden silence of her footsteps caught Keith's attention but he didn't look up. "We miss you, Keith. Please, come back to us soon," Acxa turned to say down the hall.

Keith scoffed loudly. He slowly shook his head and disappeared around the corner to press his back against the wall. His hand was up to cover his mouth. He couldn't move. His body was shaking. He had to try to catch his breath before he could return to the room of anxious police officers who would be able to see through his lying in a split second. He couldn't think about it. He had to go back, to wait for Shiro. He pushed the thoughts out of his mind with a small shake of his head.

"Here you go," he said as he handed the cup to Adam.

The man took it with a small nod but didn't take a drink out of it. Keith swallowed down the bundle of nerves that had suddenly formed in his throat. He was ready to speak. Not about Acxa or Thace, but about everything else. He wanted to spill it all, but stopped when the door suddenly opened. Iverson smacked the knee of the sleeping officer who woke with a loud snort. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the doctor standing in the doorway looking just as tired as them all. Keith was pretty sure there wasn't a single breath to fill the room as everyone waited patiently for the one thing they all wanted to hear.

Keith and Adam sat in the armchairs next to the bed. Soft rhythmic beeping filled the room from the monitor. Keith felt strange being in the room that looked identical to the one he was in for days after his accident. Adam was holding onto Shiro's hand as he laid his head on the bed to close his eyes. Keith could have done the same but he refused to do it. There was no way he was going to close his eyes for a second more than a blink.

Keith was watching closely as the clock was ticking closer to eight o'clock. It had been hours since the doctor came to the waiting room. The man was exhausted but optimistic which was never good to Keith. Optimism led to disappointment. He heard the soft shuffling and a small groan as he was lost in the scrambled thoughts in his mind. His head quickly whipped around and he was on his feet. "Shiro?" he said louder than he had anticipated. Adam's eyes fluttered opened as Shiro swallowed and licked his dry lips. "Shiro!"

"Ugh, don't yell," the bruised man replied hoarsely. "My head is—," he started to explain as his shoulder shifted but stopped. His eyes suddenly widened as much as they possibly could. Adam was holding tightly on to his hand as he tried to hold back the tears. Keith was amazed the man had held on as long as he did. Shiro slowly lifted his head to turn to look to his right at the empty space beside his torso.

"Shiro, the doctor said they did everything they could but your arm was too badly damaged in the crash to save," Keith found himself explaining. He couldn't quite wrap his head around the words as they came out of the doctor's mouth, but standing there looking at the shocked look on Shiro's face it all too real and believable to him. Shiro slowly let his head rest back against the pillow. His eyes were still wide and unblinking. "They fixed your internal bleeding and the wound on the back of your head was nothing more than a laceration that didn't hit your skull, but they couldn't save your arm."

Adam finally sobbed. He stifled it quickly with his hand but he couldn't hide the tears that rolled down his cheeks. Shiro was surprisingly quiet. He didn't say anything for a long time until the doctor finally came back to the room. He only asked questions and the doctor patiently answered each and every one with a calm tone that blanketed the room. Keith listened for as long as he could before he had to leave. He needed air. He needed space. He needed to breathe.

"Keith," Adam called out down the hall. Keith's heart threw itself against his ribcage. He couldn't bring himself to turn around. "I didn't feel like I had a place to say this before, but now I can," Adam said with a slightly shaky voice. He had calmed his crying but he was still in the aftereffects of the quiet sobbing he did as he clutched on to Shiro's only hand. "Stay," he demanded sternly. Keith's shoulders tensed. "Stay with us. Not for me. Not for yourself. Stay for Shiro. He's going to need both of us now more than ever. So please, don't leave."

Keith slowly turned so he was facing the man struggling to keep himself standing upright with his exhaustion. His eyes were painfully red and his hair was a tangled mess. Guilt filled Keith's chest and in a quick flash he was suddenly blurting out words that was nowhere near what he was thinking. "I'm not going anywhere, Adam. I promise."

~/~

"Morning, Lazybones!" Keith groaned as the curtains on his window were opened to let in the harsh morning light across his face. He rolled over, pulling his comforter over his head to shield out the light. "Jeez, I'm the one with one less limb and yet you're the one moping around the house day in and out."

Keith scoffed. "That's because you're not human," he muttered from under the warm covers of his bed. The cold had hit early and Shiro hated when the apartment was too warm so the room would drop to an insanely cold temperature in the middle of the night, hence the pile of blankets that formed a mountain over Keith.

"Of course I'm not. How else would I put up with you?" Shiro replied and the bed shifted next to Keith. "Come on, I want to talk to you about something." Keith groaned long and loud. A hand smacked his thigh which would have hurt if not for the extra padding on top of him.

"Alright, already!" Keith snapped loudly. The comforter fell from him as he sat up. His long hair was a tangled mess on his head as it blocked the majority of his tired, half-awake face.

Shiro tried to stifled the laugh that tried to force its way from his chest. "Wow, that's sexy."

"What do you want?" Keith snapped impatiently. It was the first time in a while that he had been awake before noon and he was already feeling the affects.

"Well, I know you've been feeling kind of down with nothing to do lately but I think I've come up with a way for you to spend your time," Shiro explained. He could barely contain the excitement that made his lips stretch wide across his face. Keith was suspicious of that smile. His eyes narrowed and he could see the older man was holding onto something beside him but couldn't make out exactly what it was.

"I'm enjoying sitting at home taking care of you," Keith explained sarcastically as he ruffled his hair roughly and let the tips of his fingers rub against his scalp.

Shiro scoffed exceptionally loud. "More like you enjoy sitting around while I take care of you," he explained bitterly.

"You have to get used to your prosthesis and the best way to get used to it is to use it as much as possible," the younger man explained with a crooked grin that made Shiro rolled his eyes. It wasn't entirely wrong. The metal arm was a prototype made with high range mobility but a few bugs. Shiro struggled at first but his scary optimism and positive attitude made him quickly adapt to the new situation. Shiro lifted his hand suddenly to shove the piece of paper against Keith's chest before he stood. "What is this?" Keith asked quizzically as he flattened the crumpled paper. His eyes widened as he let them scan over the paper.

"Matt says it's a difficult program. There's no room to slack off but I know you can do it, Keith," Shiro explained.

Keith's throat was instantly dry. He felt like he had a mouth full of sand that was quickly filling up his lungs. "I—I don't know," he replied in a low voice as he set the paper down on his lap. "Shiro, I don't—I'm not—"

"You know the finances aren't an issue. The fund is sitting there waiting for you to use. There is nothing holding you back from making this decision except yourself," Shiro explained, his hands perched on his hips. "Look, Keith, I've been quiet up until now—"

"You have?" Keith retaliated sarcastically and couldn't help the tiny grin that formed on his face.

"— _but_ I think it's time to invoke tough love," the older man continued without skipping a beat. "I have let you get away with whatever you wanted, which was illegal so I get double points for being an awesome guardian for letting that happen." Keith rolled his eyes dramatically. "Now you have to focus on the future. You need to do something that you'll enjoy and that you'll be proud of and I think this could be it."

"Shiro, all I've done is screw things up. I don't exactly have the best track record for being someone to rely on," Keith explained bluntly. Shiro stepped forward and he started to reach up with his prosthetic arm but stopped himself. It was a habit and one he was trying to break daily. He let his other hand press heavily on the younger man's shoulder. The physical contact magnified the desperation Shiro was trying to do emotionally.

"No one is relying on you. This is for you, Keith," he replied caringly. "This was your dream as a kid. You spent all day with your mind in the clouds, why not do something about it?"

Keith frowned as his eyes moved over the artificial metal of Shiro's right arm. No one was arrested even though Iverson was bound and determined to find whoever had Shiro in the hospital for almost three weeks. Shiro refused though. He said he didn't want the hassle but in reality a small part of him did it for Keith. He knew there was something the dark-haired young man was hiding in his cold silence. For Keith, that only made everything worst. He was living with a secret that kept him awake at night and he had no one to tell.

"Can you at least try?" Shiro asked. The tone in his voice was small, like he was begging Keith. The way his dark eyes stared at Keith with such fierce intensity made the younger man groan in the back of his throat. The small grin on Shiro's face was instant. He had won. It wasn't surprising. If there was one thing he was good at, it was wearing down Keith. Keith would never win, no matter how hard he tried. There was no stopping the inevitable.

Little did he know, the wrinkled piece of paper on his lap was the marker for is beginning of a completely new path. Nothing was ever going to be the same again as he muttered, "Yeah, I'll try."


	2. Chapter 2: Hesitate

**"Have you ever gone days without anything happening?"**

 **"Huh?"**

 **"Just hear me out. You go days, maybe even a couple or weeks or months, without anything special happening. Days just kind of happen. They blend together, but then you notice that tiny things you never noticed before were all leading up to one thing. One life changing event that you were never expecting to happen. Do you know what I mean?"**

 **"I think I do. So, what was this life changing event?"**

 **"Hang on, I'm getting to that. But first, the little things. They're important."**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Hesitate**

Keith stood on the lawn of the large campus of the college. Large trees scattered around the quad were in the beginning of their yearly colour change. Shades of burnt orange and crisp yellow mixed in with fading green on long, nimble branches. The canvas bag that hung over Keith's shoulder was heavy with the textbooks that were shoved haphazardly inside during his race to get ready after his alarm went off for the seventh time. The entire feeling was foreign to him while watching the swarms of students moving along the concrete paths from building to building. He hadn't been to school in over two years, and there was a reason why. It was strange how the racing of his heart in his chest was so familiar even after all that time that passed. He could feel his exhaustion finally catching up with him when he was suddenly not moving. He had barely slept as he worried over absolutely everything he could worry about but his adrenaline had managed to mask his tiredness up until he was finally staring up at the stone building at the end of the wide path leading from the parking lot.

"This is such a bad idea," he muttered quietly to himself but still loud enough to be heard by outside forces.

"Oh, come on, it won't be that bad," the voice said from his side. He turned his head to face the bright hazel eyes behind large, round glasses perched on the end of a round nose. "It'll take a bit to get into the rhythm, but once you're back in the swing of it, it's like riding a bike. You remember what it was like in high school, right?"

"I tried really hard to forget," Keith muttered and turned his head back to stare across the quad at the main building with the large clock sticking up from the middle of it. "I wasn't entirely the best at riding my bike in high school."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Well, you shouldn't have any problems. Just don't freak out and you'll do fine. I mean, you did well, even though you were a notorious delinquent who almost resorted half of the teachers to alcoholism just by being in direct proximity of you," she explained with a crooked, amused grin. "But other than that, you were fine."

"Wow, I forgot how much of a pain in the ass you are when you don't have your brother around to put you in your place," Keith explained sarcastically. He had known the year younger girl since she blew through two grades worth of classes in on year back in high school and was put beside Keith in his advanced Physics class. How did she do it? It was a continuous mystery even to Keith. The young girl was awkward and weird but Keith liked it.

"That's some big talk from the guy who if I leave would have to walk home thirty blocks," Pidge retaliated. "And we wouldn't want you too vulnerable or the aliens might find you and take you back home where you came from."

Keith cracked a small smile at that. "Alright, this could go on for a while," he replied and started towards the main building that loomed directly in front of him from across the courtyard.

Pidge's eyes widened. "Does that mean you concede?" she asked excitedly as she followed closely with quick footsteps in order to meet Keith's long strides.

"For now," Keith snapped. "I concede for now," he elaborated with a strong tone.

Pidge let out a loud roar of laughter that Keith rolled his eyes at. She basically lived off making Keith feel small and wrong, but his pride was too great to ever admit that she was right, even if ever conceded. The halls of the college were surprisingly busy. There were students clothed with matching shirts that had five colours (black, red, yellow, blue, and green) scattered all around the main lobby handing out flyers and cheering some sort of chant having to do with five important personality traits: leadership, humility, intelligence, strength, and compassion. Keith internally groaned at how completely cheesy the chant was. He was too lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the large mascot of a lion weaving its way through the crowd to high-five students trying to make their way inside. Keith quickly dodge out of the way at the last minute to avoid being roped into an aggressive chest bump between the lion and a large dude wearing a backwards cap who was exceptionally loud and rowdy.

Once the crowd thinned out, Keith could breathe normally. Pidge seemed strangely unbothered by the obsessive noise and heavy crowd, as if she was completely blocking out the entire thing so she could focus on getting to the destination. There was a line out the student administration office on the main floor that Keith and Pidge joined as loud cheering echoed from the cafeteria down the hall. Pidge was busy on her phone as soon as they were standing still as Keith looked around the room packed full of people getting schedules and having their photos taken. Keith watched as a group of young girls giggled softly while exchanging their new student cars back and forth to each other. They couldn't have been older than eighteen.

"Pidge, you don't have to stand here with me," he turned to his bored looking friend to say. He didn't want to be left alone in the foreign place with absolutely no direction but he also felt bad enough that she had to pick him up hours before her first class even started. She finally looked up from her phone with furrowed eyebrows. "I know you don't have to be here. You can go find something else to do."

"And leave you to fend for yourself on the first day?" she replied and let out a sharp, sarcastic laugh. "Please, I'll end up finding you cowering in a corner somewhere. No, you need me."

Keith could have let out a loudest relieved sigh, but he decided against it. Instead, he opened his mouth to retaliate with some snarky comment but was suddenly sent off kilter when he was suddenly smacked into from behind. The force almost knocked him down but he caught his balance as Pidge instinctively grabbed his arm.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" the worry sounding voice shouted. Keith quickly spun around ready to give whoever crashed into him a piece of his mind but stopped when he realized the voice came from a rather husky young man with olive skin and a worry filled expression. He was carrying a large box that hid his face before he turned slightly for Keith to see his dark brown eyes and orange bandanna he had tied around his forehead. There was something naturally calming about him and Keith was immediately reminded of a large teddy bear for some strange reason. "Are you okay? I—I'm so sorry. I couldn't see where I was going, not that that's a fair excuse to run into someone, but I'm still so sorry!"

"It's okay man," Keith said as he lifted his hands to wave them slightly. "Stop apologizing. It's all good. Do you need any help?" he offered kindly, pushing aside his prideful need to be an asshole while under the intense watchful eye on his only friend standing next to him.

The young man shook his head frantically. His worry disappeared to be replaced with a wide, bright smile that made Keith feel warm. "No, I'm alright. I just have to watch where I'm going. Thanks though!" he said loudly before trotting off with the boxes partly obstructing his vision in a dangerous manner that made Keith nervous.

"He's not your type, Keith," Pidge spoke up after the silence dragged on too long.

Keith's eyebrows were narrowed together in confusion. He quickly spun his head around and his friend's attention was back on the glowing screen of her phone but her mouth was stretched up in a wide grin that took up half her face. "Where the hell did that come from?" Keith asked bitterly.

Pidge lifted her eyes to look up at him through her eyelashes and over the rim of her glasses. When Keith looked at them directly they didn't look so big and intense. He swore Pidge only wore the glasses to add that effect, not because she needed them for her vision. "Weren't you flirting?" she asked in response with a genuine tone.

"What? No! I don't—what?" Keith snapped confusingly. Pidge knew exactly where to jab Keith to make him the most uncomfortable: his flirting skills. Why? Because he had absolutely none.

"Hm, well, that's embarrassing. My bad," Pidge replied with a shrug of her shoulders and her attention shifted back down to her phone again.

Keith turned his body to face the same direction as the line, mostly so he wasn't looking directly at his friend anymore in case she looked up again and noticed his burning cheeks. "You need to get out more and interact with people," Keith explained in a low mumble as he scratched at his arm through the sleeve of his jacket. "People who aren't your brother or me." The scar was itchy again. It healed but it was constantly itchy.

"Meh," Pidge replied with a bored tone.

Keith rolled his eyes and was grumbling under his breath but none of the words were loud enough or distinct enough for Pidge to understand what he was saying. "I can help who's next," one of the secretaries behind the office desk called out loudly.

"That's you," Pidge spoke up without missing a beat. Keith's itching stopped instantly as he frowned and he quickly looked around to realize she was right. The line had been dwindling away quickly without him even noticing.

The woman didn't look up as Keith hurriedly stepped up to her desk. Pidge hung back a few steps and snickered occasionally from whatever she was reading on her screen. Probably memes. It was always her damn memes. "What's your first and last name and your program you've applied for?" the woman suddenly asked, her voice flat and monotone.

"Keith Kogane, Astronomy," he answered a little too quickly. He couldn't shake his nerves. Pidge had him too flustered and he hadn't had enough time to sort himself out. The older woman sitting behind the desk glared up over the top of her glasses at him as her hand ceased writing. In that moment he wondered why people with glasses enjoyed giving him that look. He was a fucking magnet for it. Adam did it. Pidge did it. Even the random woman behind the desk did it. Was he really that weird? Keith shrugged off the thoughts when he realized the silence had droned on for too long. "K-O-G-A-N-E," he spelled out with a small, crooked grin to try to make light of the tense situation with the intense woman.

The woman rolled her eyes as she continued. There were multiple forms passed over the counter that Keith had to sign and then he was suddenly standing in front of a camera with flash big enough to blind an elephant before he had a chance to ask what the hell exactly he was signing. He was pretty sure his soul and first born had been claimed at some point in time. Pidge seemed amused by the complete look of confusion as Keith was manhandled around the room by the secretaries before being led back to where she was standing. Keith was still blinking as he stepped out of the main office with Pidge slightly ahead of him to lead the way. The blinding spots across his vision made it hard for him to see his own picture on the laminated card he was given, even when he held it up to his face almost touching the tip of his nose.

"Want something to eat?" Pidge asked as she gently nudged her shoulder against the dark haired boy moving his card further and closer to his face in an attempt to get his vision back.

"On you?" he asked teasingly and gave up trying to tell whether he looked even remotely human in his photograph to slide the card into his pocket.

"Eh, why the hell not. I'll indulge your first official taste of crappy cafeteria food," she answered with an amused tone that made Keith slightly worried. He wasn't expecting her to agree and her answer was no instilling much confidence in him about asking.

The loud shouting over the pulsating dance music from the cafeteria grew louder with each step that Keith and Pidge took down the hallway lined with metal lockers and plaques Keith was too uninterested to really take a moment to look at. Once they were in the large open doorways, Keith stopped. The room was spacious and packed full of people sitting at the tables or standing near the doorway. The music was coming from a speaker across the room where the floor rose a bit higher from where Keith and Pidge stood and a group of students wearing the same multi-coloured shirts as the students in the main lobby were dancing around to the fast pace of the music.

"What the hell is this?" Keith asked with a bitter tone above the loud beat of the music that had everyone in the room moving.

He wasn't expecting the sudden presence behind him and the obstruction of his vision as something was tied loosely around his head. "It's fun, Mullet," the sudden voice against his ear said. The warm breath that ghosted over his skin made him shiver. The nickname immediately made his blood boiled but there was something about the way one of the hands of whoever was behind him gently moved over his shoulder that made him relax. Pidge giggled lightly from the side. "Enjoy the party, you two!" the faceless voice said over the loud noise. Keith quickly removed the crimson bandanna that had been tied over his eyes to turn his head so he could see who it was but he only caught the the fistfuls of colourful fabric and caramel hair disappearing into the crowd of students.

"Welcome to Voltron College, Keith," Pidge turned her head to say loudly over the music. She pushed the green bandanna up to her forehead as she smiled wildly. Keith's eyebrows were furrowed together in complete confusion as his friend leaned in closer to him. "Where the motto is: Go Down Swinging."

"When I say _Vol_ —!" a voice yelled above the music and the noise of the crowd. Keith's head quickly spun around to see the olive skinned young man who had crashed into him in the office standing on a chair to scream above everyone, "—you say _tron_! Vol!"

"Tron!" the crowd screamed back with just as much enthusiasm as him. Keith was right confused and completely second guessing his decision.

"Vol!" the boy shouted again with equal, if not more enthusiasm than the first time.

"Tron!" the crowd repeated loud enough to rumble the windows that lined the opposite wall.

Keith stared at the red fabric in his hand. It was such a strange feeling being a part of something so high energy and crowded. He was there but he felt completely disconnected from it all. His arms crossed over his chest as he let out a heavy sigh through his nose. He was scowling out of confusion as he watched the crowd erupt in loud cheering and ludicrous dancing to the heavy bass in the loud music. "This place is weird," he muttered just loud enough for Pidge to hear him.

"You'll fit in perfectly than," Pidge retaliated before she spun around to make her way towards the attached room where the food was kept. Keith snapped his head around, his mouth cracked open to respond bitterly but she was too far gone to shout over the noise.

Lunch was a shared mixture of a tuna sandwich, some questionable cut up vegetables, and some slices of pizza that surprisingly tasted good despite their bland look. After lunch was the tour. The campus had three main buildings. The main administrative building had the library, the majority of the staff offices, and some classrooms used mainly for the business programs. The athletics building had a workout room, a gymnasium, a pool, and some more classrooms. The third and final building was made up of lecture rooms, the majority of the classrooms, and some offices for the professors. It was all confusing and disorienting for Keith as they wandered down the halls with Pidge's mouth going a mile a minute, but he got the main idea of it all in the end. The tour ended with Keith standing in front of the open doorway into a classroom on the fourth floor full of loud chattering and laughter. The haze of halls and doors was washed away as he shoved his hands into his pockets after rubbing them along the rough fabric of his jeans. His palms were so sweaty.

"I have classes until late evening," Pidge spoke up above the conversing voices inside the room as she was tapping her thumb against the screen of her phone. "Do you want to wait for me or take the bus home?" she asked but her voice was distant background noise to Keith. He had been walking around with a small rock in his stomach all day but it wasn't until he was standing in front of his first class that it all hit him. The rock turned into a boulder, his mouth was full of cotton balls, and he couldn't hear anything over the heavy ringing in his ears. "Hey, Space Cadet!"

Keith was jostled harshly from his thoughts by the old nickname when the small fist smacked his shoulder. "Ow! What?" he snapped bitterly.

Pidge rolled her large eyes. "Snap out of it, alright? You're like a deer in the headlights," she explained with a low tone, shoving her phone into her back pocket so she could adjust her glasses. "Just let me know if you decide to go home. If you don't, I'll message you when I'm done my classes," she ordered. Keith was used to the bossy tone she had, it was nothing new to have to deal with. Her small hand smacked against his back with a hollow thud that made Keith shrug his shoulders hunch forward with a grunt. "Now, get in the damn classroom. Stop being so afraid, and be a grown up."

Keith's lips turned down in a deep pout. He slid his hands out of his pocket to cross his arms over his chest as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I am a grown up," he muttered quietly, highlighting his pout with the sad tone he had.

Pidge scoffed loudly, her lips moving together to blow raspberries to emphasis the disbelief. "No, you're not. You think you are, but you're actually a child," she replied bluntly. "You have the emotional capacity of a toddler."

"I do not!" Keith shrieked a little too loudly and turned his head to notice Pidge making her way down the hall away from him. "Hey!" she shouted. He couldn't fight if she wasn't there and if he couldn't fight then he couldn't say he won. Pidge knew that drove him crazy, so naturally it's exactly what she did.

"A whimpering child!" she shouted back over her shoulder with a wave of her hand, earning judgemental looks from passing students.

Keith was muttering quietly under his breath a string of curse words as he watched the short brunette disappear around the corner of the hall. He was playing the argument in his head, trying to find something to hit her back with in the future when the time was right. He wasn't just going to let it go. That would be too pride-less. He turned his attention back to the classroom and was humming low and steady quietly in the back of his throat when a voice suddenly spoke up from behind him. "Going in?" the accented voice asked.

Keith's shoulders tensed having been startled before he quickly spun around. The older man had orange hair with a thick, well-groomed mustache and sparkling blue eyes. The wide grin formed on his face made his skin wrinkle at the edges of his eyes and mouth telling Keith that the man did that a lot. You know…smiling. "Uh, y—yeah," Keith answered nervously.

"Well, let's go then!" the man said loudly as he shifted behind Keith to grab his shoulders. Keith started to protest against the contact but his jumbled words and panic was no match for the man's tenacity. "There's no use standing around out here when there's learning to do!" The man was shoving Keith into the room to give him one bigger shove once they were through the doorway. "Alright!" Keith stumbled forward a bit. Fire burned his cheeks when he noticed all conversations had ceased and eyes from all around the room were trained on him. "Is everyone excited to learn about the wonders of the universe and all it holds?"

Keith awkwardly slumped his head as he quickly found his way to an empty seat across the room next to the large window. The view looked out into the courtyard of the school where the tall trees were swaying lazily with the breeze. A few burnt coloured leaves would break off from the branches in the movement to dance to the ground. The orange haired man was standing at the front of the room, his fists pressed to his hips as his eyes scanned the group of students. "I am your professor, Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smyte. For those of you too lazy to remember that, Coran is quite fine."

Keith set his bag down with a soft thump as he let out a small, sharp sigh. He felt exhausted. The lack of sleep and having to be up so early in the morning was taking a toll on his body. "Now, you folks may be thinking this is all going to be a piece of cake because you're all such smart individuals, but that kind of thinking is dangerous," Coran continued but his voice had shifted much lower than before. "This program is hard. Many people drop out within the first year. It takes discipline and hard work to pass. So, prepare yourselves for lots of late nights. My suggestion: invest in a good coffee maker now!"

Keith groaned quietly in the back of his throat as he let his head drop. He pinched the bridge of his nose before he rubbed the pads of his fingers against his closed eyelids. Coran wasn't kidding. The entire program had a heavy workload no matter what class he was looking at. _Why did I agree to this?_ Keith thought to himself every minute that he looked over the syllabus for the Introduction to Astronomical Observations class and Coran droned on and on in the background. The boulder that was in Keith's stomach was a mountain. He felt like he could throw up at any minute as he looked over all the content and assignments. So many damn assignments.

Half an hour into the class and heavy footsteps suddenly came to a stop in the doorway. Coran was halfway through a sentence when he stopped, making Keith look up from the piece of paper that had been handed him to see the young woman standing in the doorway panting heavily. "Sorry," she apologized, pushing her glasses up her face. "I got here as quickly as I could," she explained through a few heavy breaths.

"No worries! Just don't make a habit of it, Miss—," Coran started to reply and dragged on the last word to try to coax a response from the disruptive girl.

"McClain. Veronica," she answered and stepped into the room. Coran nodded in understanding before he picked up right where he left off as if he hadn't been interrupted. Keith's attention was back on his syllabus; having lost interest in what was happening. Veronica moved across the room and stopped at the empty spot next to the raven-haired boy. "Are you alright if I sit here?" she asked and tapped her fingernail against the surface of the table a few times.

Keith looked up at her with a confused expression before shifting his attention to the empty chair and then back up at her. "Unless you'd rather sit on the floor," he responded sarcastically.

It was an unexpected natural response to Keith that came off surprisingly rude. He was expecting a flash of anger across the girl's face but instead she smiled. It was strangely soft and yet mischievous all at the same time. Keith enjoyed it. When she sat down, Keith caught a sweet scent of strawberry from whatever fragrance spray she was wearing.

The anxiety in Keith's chest was quickly accompanied by the nauseating sensation that stuck to his throat as he left the class. It felt like it had gone on a lot longer than only four hours and by the end he could barely keep his eyes open as he listened to Coran. When he stepped out of the classroom he could have gone home, but he thought it would be better to try to get his bearings around the place first rather than risk falling asleep on public transportation.

Some of the halls were familiar from the tour Pidge gave him but there was still a lot of ground to cover, most of it in the building he was already in. He made his way up and down the halls laid out in an H format with stairwells at each point to take note of as much as he could. For the most part he could tell that each floor was dedicated to certain program departments, but there wasn't anything to distinct. A few of the rooms were still occupied by classes but the majority of the building was empty. Keith took a guess that Pidge was probably in one of the closed rooms on the second floor that was mostly made up of science labs and had the fewest amount of classrooms to compensate for the large lecture halls on the main floor.

Keith had wandered through all of the levels to finally reach the bottom floor. One of the lecture rooms was being used for a History class that had a poorly constructed timeline pulled up on the large projector screen as students fought to stay away in the seats. Keith shook his head as he continued down the hallway to stop at the end where it branched off either to the left or the right. The right stretched down to the stairwell but when Keith looked to the left, his interest was peaked. A hand painted banner hung over the double doors that said: _Welcome to the Heart of Voltron!_ Keith's curiosity was peaked. Through the initial set of double doors was the stairwell but another set of doors was on the other side of the stairs, unlike the others he had gone through in the building.

He didn't hesitate to push through the doors from the stairwell and instantly stopped. The long hall continued to the left at the end and Keith instantly noticed the walls were different from the rest of the building. They were covered in large, colourful murals painted on to cover every square inch of the bland white wall underneath. Painted posters were slapped on the walls and doors in a scattered, random fashion and there were a few statues and sculptures made of clay or metal next to the classroom doors as if they were guards standing watch. Keith observed every detail of everything as he walked through the empty hall. As he was making his way down the hall, observing each and every painting of a cartoon character or Albert Einstein with Ray Ban sunglasses, he was becoming increasingly aware of the muffled high tempo music playing loudly from around the corner and further down the hall. There was something about the beat that drew Keith further to the left turn in the hall so he could hear the lyrics more clearly. The song suddenly calmed down to some small plinking in the background as the singer continued.

 _Pardon me if I came on too strong,  
I just felt that we might get along._

Keith's footsteps disappeared under the music. He passed by a large painting of a white lion baring its teeth.

 _I've been known to be wrong but,  
Butterflies don't tell lies, don't be shy, come on._

Keith reached the corner and the music was hitting louder. Whoever was playing it wasn't holding back from almost blowing the speakers. The vibrations were heavy enough to be felt through the solid floor.

 _Yeah, what are we waiting for?  
Take my hand and say no more._

The music was coming from a room at the end of the hall where the door was slightly cracked open and warm light from the setting sun outside peaked through to leave a thin line along the white floor. The music was swelling up from its calm lyrical bridge to add a techno feel to the intense beat.

 _Let's get out and explore,  
And then dance in our bare feet on the bedroom floor._

Keith was at the door. The music carried on without any lyrics to allow the beat to fill the hall. Keith's hand twitched at his side. He wasn't sure why his curiosity had pushed him so far in a thoughtless daze, but there was just something about it all that made him want to figure out what was on the other side of the door. It was almost as if a hand was on his shoulder and would give him a sharp turn to left or right to get him to stand right where he was. He pushed down the strange thoughts with a small shake of his head to touch the handle of the door but he stopped when his phone suddenly vibrated from his pocket, startling him back into reality. He felt like he had been in a trance that wiped his memory of how he got there almost instantly. His hand flinched away from the cool metal to dive into the pocket of his jeans.

 **Class ended early. Meet me by the car, if you remember where that is** , Keith read from Pidge's message.

Keith scoffed as he rolled his eyes. He shoved his phone back into his pocket but hesitated to leave as he stared at the door in front of him. The music still blared loudly from the other side. His jaw clenched and, with reluctance against his curiosity, he turned away to stomp quickly down the hallway towards the stairwell that cut off the jumpy beat of the music he left behind.

~/~

The foggy first day quickly turned into a foggy first week. Keith got lost three times, was late to two classes, and even ended up sitting in on a lecture for an Economics class that he didn't clue into until about half an hour through. It was physically and mentally draining, but what was strange was that his mind kept circling back to the music he was drawn to from his first day. The beat of it was stuck in his head and he found himself humming it sometimes when his mind travelled away from paying attention to his professors. He even caught himself humming it while doing dishes at home once and turned to see Adam staring at him with the most confused, wide eyed expression he had ever seen on the brunet before.

"Bedroom Dance."

The voice startled Keith. His elbow slipped from the edge of his desk and he almost didn't catch himself before his head smacked against the flat surface. "H—Huh?" he asked quizzically as he quickly spun his head around. He could have tried to pretend he didn't do quite possibly the most embarrassing thing imaginable, but who was he kidding?

Veronica shushed him with a long, thin finger pressed to her lips that were turned up in a small, amused grin. The professor was turned, her hand raised with a stick of chalk poised between her stumpy fingers. The sudden noise had caught her attention but she was blindly searching through the crowd for the culprit with her obnoxiously thin, drawn on eyebrows set together in a scowl. When she was satisfied that there would be no further disturbance, she turned back to the board and continued with her lecture.

"The song you were just humming, it's Bedroom Dance by Knapsack," the brunette explained with a hushed tone to keep from attracting the professor's attention.

Keith felt out of place all of a sudden. He was aware how completely out of touch he was with anything to do with modern trends and fads which meant his lack of knowledge of an obvious song that, not only he could hear blaring through the school halls, but was also picked up by a classmate he didn't know was embarrassing but not surprising to him. Naturally, faking confidence was his only choice. "You know it?" he asked a little too loudly, a little less confident, a little more panicky and awkward. His eyes shot sideways to wait for the turn of the professor but instead got a dirty over-the-shoulder look from the student in front of him. He mouthed a meek apology and turned his attention back to Veronica when the student returned to his note taking. "I heard it once and now I can't get it out of my head," he added as he focused hard on trying to keep his voice lowered so he wouldn't bother anyone around them.

"I don't blame you, it's a catchy song," Veronica replied with a small smile. She was surprisingly good at multitasking. She was able to take notes as she spoke with Keith without missing a single important word that came from the professor's mouth. "I'm just a bit surprised you know it. It's not exactly a Top 40 Playlist choice."

"Do I look like someone who listens to the Top 40 Playlist?" Keith asked flatly, his face scrunched up with an expression that made Veronica try to stifle a crooked grin when she gave him a sideways glance.

She looked away without saying anything and Keith took the break in silence as the cue that the conversation about the song was over, even though he wanted to talk about it more. Well, actually, he wanted to talk about everything around the song the day he heard it, but he barely knew the girl next to him. She was surprisingly easy to open up to with her bold attitude and bright smile. She kind of reminded Keith of how Pidge was when he first met her.

"You know," Veronica suddenly spoke up after the background drone of the professor carried through the room for almost five minutes, creating a social wedge between her and Keith, "we've sat beside each other in three out of five of our classes and I still can't tell from your illegible writing if your name is Kevin or Kieran." She had paused her writing for a moment to flex her fingers before diving right back in to her note taking.

Keith quieted the chuckle that escaped his throat. It had never crossed his mind how they never had a formal introduction to each other. They blew right by it and jumped straight to sarcasm and teasing. "It's actually Keith," he explained and tapped the end of his pen against his blank notebook.

Veronica's hand stopped writing again and she hissed sharply when she pulled in a breath through her clenched teeth. Her face was contorted twisted up in painful embarrassment. "Wow, I was way off," she said jokingly. Keith liked that about Veronica. She was funny with a bit of dark humour, and nice. Keith jumped slightly as a hand was suddenly presented in front of him. Veronica was facing him, her crooked grin had softened slightly to something more genuine. "It's nice to officially meet you, Keith."

The boy nodded as he griped her hand in his and gave it a few sharp shakes. The girl with naturally tanned skin and calming light blue eyes made Keith feel calm. Even through his awkwardness and obvious embarrassment, she never dwelled on it. She made the classes together a little less painful. It had been a while since he made a new friend so it was like a breath of fresh air after being locked in a muggy room for so long. "So, what's your scar?" Keith stopped. His brain was dancing through thoughts as he was packing his books into his bag when the question shot from Veronica's mouth.

"What?" Keith snapped in pure confusion. His face was twisted up, eyebrows furrowed together and the left side of his face scrunched up almost comically.

Veronica rolled her bright eyes. She removed her glasses from her face to wipe the lenses. "Your scar. You know, the thing that makes you weird and damaged," she explained as if it was the most normal thing ever and set her spectacles back on her face. "My brother always says that everyone has a scar. It's who makes them who they are underneath all the bullshit."

"That's kind of a personal thing to ask, don't you think? I mean, we barely know each other," Keith explained with a panicked tone. He didn't know how to dodge out of the conversation. He couldn't physically leave because she was standing in the way so he had to somehow maneuver his way around her wall tearing, overly invasive question. He was exposed and he didn't like it.

Veronica had a piercing stare when she wanted to. She held Keith's shaky gaze for a long time in silence that only broke when her phone started to ring from her pocket. "Alright," she finally said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Alright?" Keith repeated with strong confusion.

"Well, now I've got an idea of what kind of person you are. How someone answers that question always brings out the base of their personality," Veronica explained plainly. She pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans to look down at the screen. Her face dropped with a frown and a small sigh.

"You are weird," Keith mentioned as he felt his nerves slowly slip away.

"And you have major trust issues," Veronica retaliated sharply. The nerves instantly came back as Keith felt exposed. "But I don't judge." Keith couldn't reply before Veronica pressed her phone to her ear. "Yeah, I'm coming. I just finished class," she answered with to whoever was on the other end. "Well, tell him to be patient," she snapped gently. She lifted her bag from her desk to throw it over her shoulder with a heavy, irritated filled sigh. "Yeah, I know who I'm talking about. You don't have to remind me," she muttered quietly and faced Keith as she moved the phone so it wasn't next to her mouth. "See you Monday, Kevin," she said teasingly with a wink before he turned away so Keith couldn't respond. The raven-haired boy was baffled as he gently waved goodbye to the girl as she strode out of the room, phone still pressed to her ear as she continued her conversation.

Keith packed himself into the passenger seat of the green Beetle for the final time that week so Pidge could take him home. He hated not having his own vehicle but he had to admit he enjoyed just the feel of the soft engine through the seat as he listened to Pidge's podcasts played through the speakers. It was nothing like Red, but it was good enough to keep the feeling of being homesick away.

The elevator ride up to the seventeenth floor was long and slightly shaky. Maintenance on the building was long overdue. All Keith wanted to do was lay down and close his eyes. He was exhausted from having to adapt his new sleeping schedule to his school schedule. He was still having troubles falling asleep which made getting up in the morning all the more difficult.

The door shut with a quiet click behind Keith as he dropped his bag on the floor next to his shoes. Cosmo's collar jingled as he quickly shook his head from the couch where he could always be found when everyone was out. The springs in the couch cushion groaned as Keith's weight landed heavily against them. His head pressed against the canine's side to have his splayed hair blend with the thick, midnight black fur. The animal turned its head to give Keith a small lick on the cheek almost as a soft greeting before putting his head back down with a sigh.

"Hello to you too," Keith said in a tired mutter. His eyes closed as he yawned loudly. "Have a good day?" he added knowing full well that there would be no response but not caring anyways.

Cosmo was a soft cushion with calm, steady breaths that quickly lulled Keith to sleep. He knew he was tired because of the dreamless state he was in that lasted until he heard a small slam and the canine was suddenly shifting underneath him. His pillow was off the couch and trotting towards the door as he rubbed tiredly at his still sleep covered eyes.

"Having a nice nap?" Adam asked while kicking off his shoes. His hands were occupied by grocery bags he didn't put down until he made it from the living room to the kitchen.

"I was," Keith grumbled through his tiredness. He stopped rubbing his eyes and pushed himself up to sit with his legs crossed and his back pressed against the back of the couch. "How was work?" he asked through a heavy yawn.

"Uneventful," Adam answered loudly from the kitchen. There was some soft clattering and then the man stuck his head through the archway with a small grin. "And school?"

Keith hummed quietly. "Same," he answered with a soft mutter.

"Have you made any friends yet?" Adam asked and ducked back into the kitchen to continue putting away the groceries he had carried inside. "Or are you choosing dark and broody as the go-to personality?"

"Haha," Keith chortled sarcastically so Adam could hear him from the next room. "If you must know, there's a girl I sit next to in a few classes. Her name's Veronica. She's pretty cool," Keith explained. Adam was back in the doorway, eyebrow cocked quizzically. There was a skeptical question in that expression that made Keith internally gag. "Oh, shut up."

"What?" Adam asked loudly. The grin on his face couldn't be contained. "I didn't say anything." Keith rolled his eyes. Adam finished putting away the groceries and then joined Keith on the couch with two yogurt cups and two spoons. He handed each of one to Keith as he let out a soft sigh and the raven haired boy knew there was something on the tip of the man's tongue. "You're surprising me, Keith." Curiosity formed on Keith's face as his head cocked to the side slightly. Adam peeled open his yogurt container to stir around the contents. "Honestly, I thought you wouldn't have lasted the week."

"So supportive. What would I do without you?" Keith asked sarcastically, his voice painfully flat that made Adam regret his words but not enough to take them back.

Adam licked the yogurt off his spoon. "Stop being so dramatic," he retaliated. "It's a good thing. You're on the right track and I'm proud of you."

"Stop it, you're being sappy," Keith said with a disgusted tone and finally opened his container. "Thanks, by the way," he added softly directing towards the food Adam gave him.

Adam smiled. It was soft and full of amusement. It felt weird to Keith how different everything was since the day they rushed to the hospital—to Shiro. "I'm glad you didn't leave that day, Keith," the brunet said as if he was reading Keith's mind about his regret of almost walking out of the apartment without taking a look back. Keith stopped stirring. His body had gone rigid. There was still a strange sensation in his chest of feeling like the outcast to the happy couple but there was also a small flicker of hope whenever he was met with care. Or maybe it was embarrassment. Keith couldn't be entirely sure.

The door opened and Shiro stepped inside with a long, exacerbated sigh. The new presence instantly broke the tension in the air which was a relief to Keith who felt like he was standing on a stage with a spotlight on him as a crowd of people waited for him to do anything remotely entertaining. Cosmo, who had been lying patiently on the floor, was immediately up with a wagging tail to meet the newcomer. Shiro rubbed the canine's head roughly, making the shepherd groan when he focused on its tall ears.

"Heads up, Adam is being sappy," Keith spoke up first trying to show to himself that the tension between him and Adam wasn't more than a momentary thing. He shoved a spoonful of yogurt into his mouth.

Shiro chuckled without turning his attention away from Cosmo. "What else is new?" he asked bluntly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world Keith could have said.

"You look tired," Adam mentioned to his lover with dark, heavy bags under his eyes.

"Lots of paperwork, not enough caffeine in the world to put up with it," Shiro answered and kicked off his shiny black shoes before he walked over to flop down on the couch. Adam had put his yogurt down on the small coffee table so Shiro could rest his head on the brunet's lap and he gently rubbed the tired looking man's temples with gentle care. "But, the guys didn't tell the new guy I had a prosthetic arm. It was funny up until it almost got too serious."

"Glad to hear you becoming a desk jockey hasn't tarnished your good sense of humour," Adam explained with a genuinely happy grin. It was a sentence that had a tint of sarcasm but it was more than likely just his tone because he obviously was glad. So was Keith, but he would rather keep that to himself.

Shiro smiled back knowing full well the man his head rested on was being genuine. Adam leaned down to kiss Shiro attentively on the forehead. The show of affection made Keith gag dramatically as he stood. "Gross. Affection. Dirty," he said with a disgusted tone as he quickly vacated the room, shoving another spoonful of yogurt into his mouth.

"Oh, you just wait, one day you'll be all gross, affectionate, and dirty too," Shiro replied and Adam laughed wildly to the point that Keith's body shivered as he made a disgusted sound.

"Doubt it," he grumbled quietly.

~/~

Heavy footsteps thumped against the sidewalk in a quick rhythm as small puffs of clouds escaped from Keith's lips. The moment he stepped outside he felt the bitter cold against his skin through his red pullover sweater and black leggings. He immediately let out a loud whine that was cut off when a strong hand landed a blow to his back, practically knocking the wind out of him.

"Let's go," Shiro said with a crooked, amused filled grin that made Keith roll his dark denim blue eyes.

He was struggling to keep up with Shiro at the jogging pace the man set. His mind was a cloud of random thoughts jumbling together, tumbling back and forth like clothing in a dryer. He didn't notice Shiro had come to a stop until he crashed into the solid plain of the older man's muscular back. Keith stumbled back with a small grunt and shook his head as if to shake out the jumble of thoughts.

Shiro quickly spun around. He was panting heavily, but not as heavily as Keith was. Gloved hands pressed against his knees as he leaned forward, his chest heaving. "Wow, you are a mess," Shiro said with a small chuckle. "Where were you there, Space Cadet?"

"Shut up," Keith responded bitterly more towards the childish nickname than anything. "I'm just out of breath," he added and straightened his back with a groan. They ran for thirteen blocks and Keith's body was screaming. The muscles in his calves throbbed and his lungs were begging to air.

"You're out of shape," Shiro corrected the boy who lifted his hand to flip him off. "Come on, let's get some caffeine. Maybe then your mind will be on straight enough to focus."

Keith looked up to see Shiro pointing across the street to a small café nestled between two buildings; one a law office and the other a pizzeria with apartments on the two levels above. The tiny bell above the door rang loudly as Shiro pushed it open. The café was busy. There were some empty tables scattered all around the room, a small stage in the back corner with black sheets hung up against the wall, and above the back half of the room was a small balcony where more bistro-style tables and chairs were. The employees wore black pants, polo shirts, and pine green aprons. One of them waited a table near the door, her long blonde hair thrown in a braid and pinned up behind her head in a bun. She looked up at the sound of the bell above the door to flash a wide smile at Keith and Shiro.

"Find a seat, gentlemen. I'll take your order in a moment!" she said far more chipper than was needed.

Shiro led the way through the tables to one next to the large window. The quiet indie music played from the speakers mounted around the room to be slightly drowned out by conversation between the customers taking up the tables. Keith's eyes danced around the room to examine the amateur paintings hung all along the walls. It worked well with the dim lighting and simple décor.

"Sorry guys!" the blonde waitress said loudly as she approached the table. "I apologize for the wait. It's been mad in here all morning and to top it all off, I'm down a server," she explained with a scrunched up expression. "Anyways, what can I get you? Something chocolatey? Something sweet? Or maybe something on the bitter side?"

Shiro was visibly amused by the waitress' high energy and bubbly personality. "Latte," he answered as he pointed to himself and then shifted to point across the table. "Black coffee for sourpuss."

"Sourpuss?" Keith lifted his head to ask with knitted eyebrows.

"Got it! I'll be back in a bit," the girl said with a loud, chipper tone before she took off to duck behind the counter where two other people were moving around making drinks and sandwiches that hissed in the panini grills when pressed between the hot sheets.

Keith rolled his eyes in frustration of having been ignored when he voiced being offended by the nickname. "Alright, time for real talk," Shiro leaned forward, his elbows on the table to fold his fleshy fingers with his artificial metal ones.

Keith threw his head back with a low groan that earned a judging stare from the table next to them. "No real talk," he groaned with a pleading tone. "Please," he begged.

Shiro shook his head rapidly. His black and white hair swayed back and forth with his movements. "Nope, it's time for real talk," he demanded. His tone was flat and serious. Keith exhaled sharply through his nose as he tilted his head back forward. He wouldn't meet Shiro's gaze as he crossed his arms stiffly over his chest. "Do you really have to be like this?"

"Don't you already know the answer to that question?" Keith retaliated bitterly.

Shiro hummed and nodded his head left and right a few times. "Alright, you got me there," he answered bluntly. Keith rolled his eyes. Shiro's chair scraped gently against the floor suddenly. The strange sound made Keith shift his eyes just as the older man reached over the table to flick him hard on the forehead.

"Ow!" Keith shouted and covered his forehead with his hands. "What the hell was that for?" he groaned while rubbing his palm against the sore spot.

Shiro sat back down and folded his hands together on the table. "Come on, Keith, just talk to me. Like a normal person, not a brooding child trying too hard to mask his emotions."

Keith growled deep in his throat but couldn't stay frustrated at the dark eyes that stared at him so intensely from across the table. "Okay. Alright," he replied in a defeated tone as he waved his hand dismissively. "Just nothing too deep or embarrassing, okay?"

Shiro's face brightened instantly. He slid his chair forward a bit and leaned forward to prop himself on his elbows. "How is school?" he asked.

"Uneventful," Keith answered naturally in the quickest response. He was taken aback by himself and the strange reaction he adapted from Adam.

Shiro scowled. "Keith, you promised," he growled with a warning tone.

Keith was waving his hand again. "I know. I know. Sorry, it was just a reaction," he explained truthfully. Shiro's expression softened. "It's just—I don't know, it's just different. I'm not sure how to…feel," he said and his nerves took over his tone to make his voice quiver.

"You know, it's amazing," Shiro said with a sigh as he sat back in his seat. Keith's eyebrows were furrowed together and before he could say anything the older man was already speaking. "I've never met anyone who actively sabotages themselves without even trying to like you do."

"What?" Keith snapped. There was anger in his tone but it was masked over by his nerves.

Shiro opened his mouth but quickly snapped it shut. His eyes shifted and he was smiling half-heartedly to the server walking over with their drinks. "Here you go," she said as she set the large mugs down. "Anything else?"

"Not right now, thank you, Romelle," Shiro responded, reading her name off the small tag pinned to the left side of her chest. She smiled before she spun around and bounded off towards another table. Her chipper voice could be heard indistinctively in the background blended in with all the other conversations. Keith pressed his palms against his mug. The warmth radiated through the ceramic to heat up his skin. "Keith, you are so wrapped up in your own head that you don't even get how completely ridiculous worrying is."

Keith scoffed and shifted in his seat to release the pinch in his lower back. "I'm worried because this isn't easy. I thought I'd be done with this. You remember what I was like in high school," he explained, his face twisting up into a deeper and deeper scowl as he spoke. "It doesn't necessarily bode confidence."

"I remember you were a goddamn nightmare," Shiro answered bluntly. Keith rolled his eyes dramatically to avoid the intense dark eyes boring holes into him. "But you were one of the smartest damn kids in your class. The problem was that you let the problems you were going through sabotage your life." Keith briefly lifted his eyes to meet Shiro's before allowing them to drop back down again. "I mean, I don't blame you. I think anyone in your position would have done the same thing, and it may be partly my fault that you fell in with the crowd that you did and I allowed it, but now is the time to turn it all around." Shiro was grinning wildly. "You've been doing so well. You've really shown a change just in the last few weeks. Don't let it all go to waste because you're scared."

"I'm not scared," Keith snapped. Again, it was an instinctual response that made Shiro roll his eyes. "You're scared," the younger boy mumbled quietly and lifted his mug to take an experimental sip.

"Are you done?" Shiro asked bluntly. Keith mumbled a mocking response that was indistinct but made Shiro chuckle lightly. "Alright, fine, why don't you tell me about this girl in your classes?" Keith's eyes shot up quickly. His face was contorted in a deep scowl. Shiro shrugged his shoulders. "What? It's called pillow talk for a reason."

"Well, stop it. It's gross," Keith responded with a dramatic shiver before he took another sip.

Shiro exhaled a small laugh. "Well, come on. You haven't made a friend, outside your delinquent pals, since Pidge. I'm curious to know about this girl who you've apparently taken a liking to."

Keith shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. She's cool. She's in a few of my classes but she actually makes them bearable. She's super smart too. I've seen the notes she's taken and they're expert," he was explaining but paused when his mind suddenly shifted to a different thought. The catchy tune was back. Shiro's head tilted quizzically. Keith noticed the older man's expression and he slowly shook his head. "I—um—heard this song on my first day. When I was waiting for Pidge to finish her class I wandered the campus building. There's a wing at the school, I think it's the arts wing. When I went in to take a look around, I heard this music," Keith found himself explaining naturally. Shiro's head was still tilted but his expression was relaxed as he listened carefully. "It's weird because I've had the song stuck in my head all week."

"That's unlike you. You're probably the one person in the world who doesn't enjoy music," Shiro took the chance to say. "Which still makes you the weirdest person in the world."

Keith was rolling his eyes again. "Okay, I'm sorry, but why the hell would anyone want to listen to someone whine about their problems to a beat? It just doesn't make any sense," he explained with a fired up tone that made Shiro grin. "These people should be getting professional help from therapists, not making music."

"Like I said, weirdest person in the world," Shiro repeated and lifted his mug to take a sip of his latte.

"Alright, fine!" Keith shouted as he banged his hand against the table. The sudden jolt made the sugar dispenser rattle against the table to dance dangerously towards the edge. Both Keith and Shiro's eyes widened in fear as they watched the glass container almost walk itself to its death of a freefall against the laminate floor. After a moment of them both staring when nothing happened, Keith pushed the container further back onto the table before he continued to speak. "Anyways, just don't blame me when I'm kicked out of school because I'm failing my classes because I'm too dumb to know what's going on." He lifted his mug but stopped before touching his lips. "You know how I am in a class setting."

Shiro hummed in a low tune that made Keith's shoulders tense. He wasn't expecting such a relaxed sound. "I am highly aware of how you are in class settings," the older man replied in a dry, bitter tone that made Keith feel just a little guilty.

The conversation carried from Keith's schooling to Shiro's work. Having lost a rather important limb, Shiro's boss thought it was a good idea for him to take it easy. Shiro hated the idea, he even threw a fit at home that Adam struggled hard with calming him down as Keith sat in his room hugging his knees to his chest listening to the loud shouting and heavy banging. He felt guilty for what happened. He couldn't get it out of his head. Some nights he stayed awake thinking about it. Other nights he woke in a cold sweat having had a nightmare about Shiro lying in a pool of his own blood with no one around to help him.

Shiro gave in to the request and it was all because of Adam. The desk work was tedious but everyone the man worked with was supportive. He was never alone and he always came home with a new story that actually didn't made Adam's heart stick in his throat with worry. Shiro's favourite past time at work was using his missing limb as a gag against new people or even some of his co-workers who continuously forgot about it. It was mean humour, but Keith enjoyed listening to the stories, even if they did make his chest tighten painfully.

Shiro got up from the table to pay at the counter once they were finished. The room had thinned out slightly in the time that had passed but it was still surprisingly loud, mostly because of a group of high school girls who were giggling wildly from the far corner. The music wasn't as drowned out as before from the conversations.

 _And sometimes living's too hard.  
We're like two halves of one heart,  
We are, we are, we are._

Keith picked up the flyer set to the side on the table. It had a daily listing of events that happened every night after seven pm. Mondays were open mic nights dedicated to comedians. Tuesdays had amateur karaoke. Wednesday was the only blank night and Thursdays was dedicated for ladies' night. Friday was open mic night for aspiring musicians. And the weekend was interchangeable weekly, whatever that meant.

 _You don't have to say I love you, to say I love you.  
Forget all the shooting stars and all the silver moons.  
We've been making shades of purple out of red and blue._

"Come on," Shiro's voice suddenly growled as a strong hand landed on Keith's back, "we're not done with our run."

Keith sighed heavily. His back arched forward as he stood up. His chair scraped back against the floor quietly when the back of his legs pushed against it. "Why do I have to come running with you?" he asked in a low mumble, his hands shoved into this pockets of his sweater as he followed Shiro.

 _Sickeningly sweet like honey,_

"Because you were getting flabby," Shiro answered with an amused grin. Keith scowled.

 _Don't need money._

Shiro threw open the door and the stack of flyers on the table next to it was picked up by the heavy chilled breeze that blew through from outside. Keith immediately ducked down to start to pick them up with his back facing the door. Heavy, running footsteps and panting breaths suddenly ducked in through the doorway where Shiro was standing, holding the door open as he waited.

"Slow down! You're gonna hurt yourself!" a voice yelled from the distance that sounded strangely familiar to Keith as he gathered up the scattered pieces of paper.

 _All I need is you._

"Sorry. Excuse me. Gracias," a second familiar voice said with heavy breaths and the footsteps moved further inside the café.

Keith stood to place the flyers on the table and stepped through the doorway as their server, Romelle, started shouting from far behind them. "Are you kidding me? You're forty-five minutes late!" her voice carried shamelessly across the room.

 _All I need is you._

The door shut behind them and completely cut off the noise of bickering voices, quiet playing music, and the tiny bell that rang from above the door anytime it moved. It wasn't until he was a few steps away that Keith found himself stopping, his body moving on its own to turn around to face the café briefly with furrowed eyebrows, back tingling with something he couldn't quite put his finger on but it was there nonetheless.

* * *

Songs:

\- **Bedroom Dance** by _Knapsack_ feat. _Matt Van_

\- **for him.** by _Troye Sivan_ feat. _Allday_


	3. Chapter 3: Collide

**"Interesting. So, do you think it was fate?"**

 **"What was?"**

 **"Well, everything was connected somehow. It couldn't have been coincidence. It must have been fate that brought it all together right?"**

 **"I don't know if I believe in fate. I guess it makes sense, but it's hard to believe in something so strange."**

 **"Stranger than literally falling into someone's arms?"**

 **"What can I say? We couldn't make things too normal. Everything about us is...complicated."**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Collide**

Keith groaned loudly as he dropped his head on his textbook with a hollow thud. His fingers found their way into his dark hair to rub roughly against the scalp where the tension was building up underneath his skull and against his brain. He was surrounded by books and papers scattered all around the kitchen table in a haphazard manner that was making his head spin. It was disorganized. It was chaotic. It was a mixture of numbers and overcomplicated equations all jumbled up in his mind to make cartoon characters.

"There is a lot of groaning coming from this room," Adam said as he stepped into the room to open the fridge.

"This is impossible," Keith said into the open pages of the textbook to muffle his voice across the room. "Why in the hell did I ever think I was smart enough to do this?"

The fridge door shut with the sound of Adam scoffing loudly to accompany it. Keith turned his head slightly to give the older man a scowling look as he walked over to the table. "Well, if you wanted a pity party, you should have let me know so I could have picked up some streamers," he explained teasingly but with a very flat tone to his voice. The pop can he held open with a crack and he lifted it to his lips to take a drink.

"Are you proud of that one?" Keith narrowed his eyes to ask bitterly.

Adam cracked an amused smile when he lowered his drink from his face. "A little bit," he replied and pulled out the chair in front of him to sit down. The can clunked against the solid wood as it was set down gently. "Look, it's not a matter of being smart enough. You have what it takes up here," Adam explained and pressed his finger against Keith's forehead to elicit a confused expression from the raven-haired boy. "The one thing that I have painfully come to the conclusion about with you is that it's all about your will power. Your drive to want to do this instead of your capacity of knowledge."

Keith lifted his head from the table. His eyes were still narrowed suspiciously. "Was that an emotional-based response? What's wrong with you?"

Adam rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "You know, if you spent the same amount of time and effort on studying as you do in being a pain in the ass, you'd be a genius," he replied sarcastically. "It'll be a miracle if anyone in this world willingly decides to deal with you for the rest of their life."

"It must not be too hard. I mean, Shiro chose you after all," Keith retaliated. He couldn't hold back his grin from his own joke.

"It's not like his baggage is all that light," Adam replied and smiled just as wide as Keith did. "His just came in the form of a five-foot, ten-inch man-child with mommy and daddy issues."

Keith's smile instantly disappeared. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he heard the loud voice coming from the living room. "Dear lord, enough!" Shiro shouted. Heavy footsteps thumped against the floor to stop in the doorway. "You two sound like a couple of seagulls fighting over a damn French fry," he explained bitterly with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. "And Adam's right. Your problem is all mental…and you have mommy and daddy issues."

Adam snorted in laughter. Keith acted offended but he knew they both had a point. He hated that. Adam was painfully blunt while Shiro approached each situation with a level of kindness that sheltered the person from any pain that could come from the truth. Keith appreciated the two different personalities of the power couple, but that didn't stop him from hating that fact that he was their main target for the truth.

"Why don't you get a tutor?" Adam asked as he lifted himself from his seat to return to the fridge to start on dinner. "You could get Pidge to help you out, or maybe you can get your friend from your classes to give you a hand."

Keith hummed low in the back of his throat as he sat back in his seat. He scratched at a spot at the base of his skull a few times before he crossed his arms over his chest. It wasn't a bad idea. He could use the extra help but it was his pride that held him back. He uncrossed his arms to tap the end of his pencil against his opened textbook to a rhythm that was subconsciously playing in his mind. He didn't realize he had dazed out while listening to the professor until Veronica was nudging his arm.

"Hey, you're more out of it than usual," she explained as she leaned forward with her elbows on her desk as she faced Keith with furrowed eyebrows. "What's on your mind?"

Keith exhaled sharply. He picked up the small, mock assignment that was given out for everyone to complete and passed it over to the curious young woman. She examined it in silence before she let out a small sigh. "This is not good," she said with a shake of her head.

"I know," Keith groaned in response as he ran his hands over his face.

"Your answers are correct, but your application is lazy," Veronica explained and set down the paper. "You can't just skim over the work. You have to go through the steps or else it's just guess work."

"I know," Keith repeated and dropped his hands at his sides as he stared up at the ceiling. "What the hell am I doing?" Veronica sighed again. She was shaking her head slowly. Keith swallowed the lump of pride that had formed in his throat. He had no choice. He sat forward and frowned. "Can you tutor me?"

Veronica looked amused. Keith immediately regretted his decision to ask her. "Are you asking for help?" she asked smugly. "I thought you were too good to ask for help."

"I regret this already," Keith muttered to himself.

"I feel so special to be chosen by the almighty Keith Kogane," Veronica continued her teasing with her hand pressed dramatically against her chest as she tilted his head back slightly.

"Are you going to help me or not?" Keith snapped in annoyance.

Veronica chuckled briefly. Her playful expression slowly dimmed to something of guilt and worry. It was startling to Keith. He couldn't help but tilt his head slightly out of curiosity. "I'm sorry Keith, I can't. There's just…too much going on and—," she explained and her tone was full of sorrow.

"Hey, it's okay," Keith interrupted with a small wave of his hand. "It's not the end of the world, I just thought I'd ask you since you love showing off how damn smart you are."

Veronica tightened her lips together at that as she rolled her eyes. "You can be such an asshole," she teased as she pushed herself up to her feet.

Keith looked up at her with confusion as she started to pack up her books. "What are you doing?" he asked.

The brunette stopped to smile down at him. "Class has been done for a while now," she explained while pushing her glasses up her nose. Keith looked around for the first time to see most of the class had left. Those who remained were finishing up some notes or part of a conversation happening at the front of the room. "You were so out of it, you didn't even notice." Keith looked confused. Veronica's phone started to vibrate in her pocket. She lifted it to look at the screen that said _Pibe_. "I'll see you later."

"Later," Keith replied as he was packing up his stuff.

Veronica threw her bag over her shoulder and finally answered the call coming through on her phone. "How is class going?" Keith heard her say as she walked away.

"Boring," the voice answered from the other end. "I don't get why the profs can just read off a slideshow and call that a class. It's a bunch of _mierda_."

Veronica passed by the small groups of students scattered throughout the hall as she kept her phone pressed to her ear. "What have I told you about the language?" she asked bitterly but kept her voice low so that those she passed by didn't hear her. "Just because you say it in Spanish doesn't make it alright," she explained with a slight bite to her tone.

"Mama does it," the voice mumbled in response.

Veronica sighed as she rolled her eyes. "And society says you are legally an adult," she said with a teasing tone. There was quiet laughter on the other end of the call. "So, are you going to be in the same room tonight or do I just have to follow the music like a trail of breadcrumbs?"

The young man hummed quietly for a moment before he answered. "You know I can't make any promises," he replied jokingly. "It's my one flaw amongst my many, many skills as a loveable hero."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "Trust me, you have many other flaws than just that one," she replied bluntly as she squeezed between a group a people taking up a majority of the hall.

"Awe, how mean," the boy said with a pained tone that was obvious it was fake. "I am so hurt. My wounds will need licking."

Veronica chortled softly as she turned into the short hall that led to a set of double doors with one propped open. She passed through the opening and waved at the young woman standing behind the battered wooden podium. "Alright Superman, what do you want tonight?" she asked and moved across the dining area with a few full tables.

"Superman? You categorize Superman as a loveable hero?" the voice asked bitterly through the phone. "I think that hurts more than the insults."

"Focus," Veronica snapped. "What do you want for food later?"

"Surprise me," the boy answered followed by some indistinct voices as background noise. "I've got to go, break's almost over."

Veronica entered the small locker room through the door with a hanging sign that said _Employees Only_ on it to set her bag down. "Love you," she replied and dragged out the words as long as she could.

"Mhm," the young man hummed in response before hanging up to end the conversation.

Veronica tossed her stuff into the locker with her name on it before she tied the black apron around her waist that hung from the small hook inside the door. A second door connected the locker room to the small kitchen where two young men were arguing loudly. Veronica hadn't heard the bickering while she was on the phone but when she hung up she could hear the muffled indistinct voice without any content of the argument as they escalated their voices over each other. It wasn't until she was standing on the opposite side of the metal shelves where the finished meals would be placed under the warming lights for the servers to take out to the dining area that she finally heard what exactly it was that they were fighting about.

"Why would we change something that we already knows works?"

Veronica sighed as she leaned against the shelves. The two men were fairly equal in build. The one who was shouting was slightly older and was waving around a large knife he was using to chop up vegetables.

"Why are you so afraid to try something new?" the second man retaliated. He spun around, the tails of his orange bandanna flowed behind him with his movements. "It's not like it's going to hurt anyone. We try something new and if it doesn't work then we stop doing it."

"The menu hasn't changed since I started working here. No one changes the menu," the other man snarled angrily and turned back to his station to continue chopping. "If we change the menu we risk losing business and losing money."

"And if we don't take the risk then we never see the potential we are capable of here," the younger man said passionately. His opponent stabbed his knife into his cutting board and spun back around.

"Hunk's right," Veronica spoke up. Both males were unaware of her presence during their argument and both spun around to face her with the same confused look. "Something new will be good. You don't have to change the entire menu but some new items might not be a bad idea." Hunk looked satisfied as he crossed his arms over his chest to give the other man a smug look. "Come on, Sal, don't be a stick in the mud."

The man snorted as he rolled his eyes. His hands lifted in the air with a few shakes of his head. "Fine," he growled. He was defeated. He pulled his knife out of the cutting board with a heavy sigh. "You can do three dishes: an appetizer, a meal, and a dessert. If they don't stick, they don't stay." Hunk flinched when the tip of the sharp knife was pointed at him. "Do I make myself clear?"

Hunk nodded quickly. "Yes sir, clear as crystal," he replied trying to sound calm but his obvious excitement was hard to hide.

Sal exhaled a heavy sigh. "I need a smoke," he grumbled and stabbed his knife into the cutting board a second time. "I very long smoke," he added as he made his way to the emergency exit door that he often used to step out and smoke next to the empty crates and battered dumpster.

"Thanks," Hunk said to Veronica with a wide grin when the man was out of earshot. "What would I do without you?"

"Don't thank me just yet. I got your foot in the door, now it's your turn to blow it wide open," Veronica replied while grinning smugly and stepped back from the racking to make her way to the swinging door that led out into the dining area. She stopped with her hand pressed against its rough surface. She scratched her nail against the surface as she exhaled through her nose.

"Veronica?" Hunk spoke up at the sight of the woman's sudden shift in demeanour. "Something wrong?"

She forced the chipper smile back on her face and nodded rapidly as she turned to make sure Hunk saw her expression. If he didn't believe it, he might not stop asking. "I'm fine, it's just been a long day," she answered fully knowing she was lying and Hunk could probably see right through it but he wouldn't say anything. He was good like that sometimes if he knew she needed the space. "Oh, and he said to surprise him tonight."

Hunk snorted in amusement. "So, garlic knots?" he responded with a small grin.

Veronica laughed quietly as a reply before she pushed through the door to leave. The restaurant started slow but more and more students filed in as time went on and it was closer to dinner. Veronica moved in between the tables, using her hips to push in empty chairs and sweeping up dishes with adept hands as she barely stopped to even catch her breath. It was like a dance to her as she moved through the dining area. She had started working for the restaurant during the summer when the school wasn't as busy. That let her get used to the layout to the point she could move without even thinking. It was all muscle memory and reflexes, especially when customers would unexpectedly push out their chair in front of her or spill some water at her feet.

"Hey," a man in one of the booths spoke up as he reached out to grab Veronica's arm. She flinched, more out of being startled than anything which made him immediately release her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well, if that's your intent then the next time you're trying to grab someone's attention, don't go to the literal sense," Veronica explained with a smug grin. The brunet boy took a moment before he grinned. It only turned up the one corner of his mouth and though it was slightly cocky it was slightly endearing. Veronica cleared her throat and shifted her weight to the opposite leg. "So, what can I get you?"

"Grilled cheese," the young man answered. "I have a huge craving for a grilled cheese."

The young man sitting across the table from him snickered. He had been silent the entire conversation up until that point but didn't look up from the textbook he was scanning through. Veronica was amused at the silent young man's attitude towards the interaction between her and his brunet friend across the table. "Anything for you?" Veronica asked as she gently touched her hand against the shoulder of the dark skinned young man who finally looked up from his textbook.

"I'm fine, thank you," he answered slightly caught off guard by the physical contact and possibly the attention.

Veronica gave his shoulder a small squeeze with her fingertips before she turned away. The connection of passing gazes was intense as she flashed a small, smug grin to the brunet boy who gave an interested look back at her. He chuckled softly as Veronica stepped away towards the kitchen feeling rather proud of her playing along with his game but maybe not with the same rules he may have been trying to lay out.

"Forget about it, James," the darker skinned young man said with a small sigh as he returned to his textbook.

The brunet named James turned his head back around to face his friend after watching Veronica walk away. "What?" he asked while trying to stifle his small laugh.

His friend across the table rolled his eyes. "You know what," he grumbled quietly. "You're absolutely shameless."

James scoffed and leaned back in his seat as he stretched his arm high over his head. "I think you've told me that once or twice before," he joked with a wide grin stretched across his face. His friend exhaled sharply with a shake of his head. "Come on, Kinkade," James said loudly and reached across the table to punch his friend's arm, making the man grunt softly. "Don't be such a stick in the mud."

"He's cute," the olive skinned young woman standing beside the swinging door into the kitchen said with a sly grin. Her black hair was tied up with a headband to keep any loose strands out of her face.

Veronica stopped to look over at the girl who motioned back towards the table where James and Kinkade sat. The brunet scoffed. "Don't start, Rizavi," she responded in a low voice before she pushed into the kitchen, the other server close behind her.

"I couldn't get a great look at him, but it was kind of obvious he was into you," Rizavi explained smugly and leaned back against one of the silver tables as Veronica was writing on her notepad pulled from her apron. "He watched you walk away and everything."

"Well, I better start preparing my dowry right away," Veronica responded sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

"What are we talking about?" Hunk suddenly chimed in as he leaned against the metal shelf between him and Veronica.

"Veronica has an admirer," Rizavi sang and tilted her head back and forth with each syllable.

Hunk gasped loudly. "A gentleman suitor?" he asked dramatically.

Rizavi nodded. "I do not," Veronica grumbled and ripped the piece of paper from her notepad to slap it onto the shelf Hunk rested his arms on. "He's just a lion looking for meat."

Rizavi sighed loudly. Veronica frowned at the obviously loud noise. "Is that such a bad thing?" Rizavi asked with an unamused tone in her voice. "I mean, how long has it been since you ate some meat?"

"A long time," Hunk sighed as he picked up the piece of paper.

"Don't worry Hunk. Shay's just gone for the semester. She not gone forever," Veronica explained to the sad looking boy who nodded as he turned back to his cooking station. "And for you," she turned to snap at the other server who lifted her hands in surrender. "My eating habits are considered none of your business," Veronica retaliated with her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"It's not like you're an herbivore," Rizavi responded and stopped surrendering to cross her arms over her chest. "A girl needs meat or else she'll go crazy."

Sal stepped up next to Hunk to grab the order Veronica had placed on the shelf from his hands. "What the hell are they talking about?" he asked Hunk in a low growl.

Hunk chuckled heavily. "I don't think you want to know," he answered.

Sal thought about it for a moment before he shook his head rapidly and turned away from the conversation. "You're right, I don't want to know."

"I don't have time to think about that kind of stuff, Rizavi," Veronica jumped back into the discussion with the other young woman in the room. "Between school and work and—"

"Babysitting?" Hunk spoke up over his shoulder. It earned a slight head turn from Veronica but she didn't vocalize her annoyance at his interruption.

"The last thing I need is to have to worry about someone else in my life who is more than likely just going to cause more problems than anything," Veronica explained with stress full in her voice.

"Or, he could provide a sense of relief and comfort to you," Rizavi mentioned weightlessly.

Veronica shifted her weight as she lifted her arms to cross them over her chest. "Can you please pull your head out of the gutter for a moment? It's not going to happen," she snapped.

Rizavi rolled her eyes with a heavy exhaled sigh as she pushed off from the table. "Fine, suit yourself," she muttered quietly under her breath and shoved through the swinging door to leave the kitchen.

"Awe, I think I hurt her feelings," Veronica responded sarcastically.

"You know, she has a point," Hunk spoke up when he was turned, making Veronica spin around to face him. "You can't just take care of him forever. Remember the whole plan to hit restart? Experience what you haven't. Do what makes you happy."

"What makes _me_ happy, not what everyone else _thinks_ will make me happy," Veronica repeated. "I think that's the important part of that sentence." She took a few steps back as Hunk sighed sadly. His worry was apparent on his face. "Don't look so distraught, Hunk. It'll affect your cooking."

Sal let out a sharp laugh that Hunk scowled at. The distraction was enough for Veronica to slip away out of the room without being stopped with any more of the conversation. She had to admit, she appreciated the fact that they cared, even if they went about it in a completely inappropriate way. Hunk was always compassionate to anyone, but a lot of his compassion went towards his friends. Even during dark times, he was always the light shining through. Veronica had seen that multiple times over the years she had known him. Through everything they went through, Hunk was always smiling.

"Are you ready?" Hunk asked after he shut his locker door with his bag thrown over his shoulder. "We probably shouldn't keep him waiting too long or his boredom may end up with him burning the school down."

Veronica chuckled softly and leaned over to grab the white takeout bag sitting on the small bench in the middle of the room. "Well, I can't say it's not possible, which is probably the most terrifying part about that," she explained and adjusted her glasses on her nose. Hunk chuckled but it was cut short when the warm bag full of food was pressed to his chest. "Here, you can be his favourite today."

"When am I not?" Hunk replied smugly as he took the container and passed by Veronica. She laughed sarcastically and pulled open the door to let the young man through first.

There were still a few students wandering the halls of the school but for the most part it was all quiet. The days were getting shorter which meant the sun was going down during the dinner rush and was usually gone by the time Veronica and Hunk would leave the school. The halls were glowing with the sunlight from the setting sun that poured through the windows to stretch across the floor, up the walls, and even touch the ceiling. They passed through the doors to the Heart of Voltron and Veronica sighed when she heard the loud electronic pop music travelling through the halls that could be heard when she and Hunk immediately passed through the doors from the stairwell.

 _Show me an empty space,  
I'll fill it up with my love._

"Hm, I wonder where he could possibly be," Hunk said sarcastically over the music and grinned towards Veronica.

 _No matter what it takes,  
I'll cheer from the bleachers above.  
I'll always be cheering you on._

Veronica led the way down the hall. As they got closer to the corner she heard a voice shout through the sound of the music. It was a strangely familiar voice followed by a loud bang and more panicked screams.

Shared worried glances between Veronica and Hunk made them rush at the sound to quickly round the corner and immediately came to a halt when they were both in the open doorway of the classroom. Veronica couldn't help the outburst of laughter as Hunk cleared his throat loudly. She had to admit, she never would have expected what she saw.

~/~~\\\~

Keith hated having to wait for Pidge after class. He just needed his own vehicle. He needed Red so he could do what he wanted. So he could go where he wanted. He didn't like the feeling of being confided to one area. He liked the freedom of being able to take himself anywhere as long as he had gas in the tank. He didn't even need a plan half the time. He would just get behind the wheel and drive.

The good news was, he had lots of work to keep him occupied so he didn't have to think about the limitations on his life all the time but he had a limit to how long he could stare at the textbooks and notes he had open in front of him until his brain started to overheat. He pushed his chair back from the table to stand as he stretched his arms above his head. He had found a quiet spot in the back corner of the library to spend the last few hours studying which was luckily far enough away from the table of a rather large group project that consisted of mostly bickering and groaning but it had its own distractions with the large window right next to him that had a direct view into the Zen garden complete with a maze and colourful flowers. Even the flowers were interesting compared to the boring shit he had been reading repeatedly for the last hour straight.

The muscles in Keith's legs had grown restless and needed movement. He needed to move around and get away from the hellish torture that was his homework. He needed to get as far away as he could so he left his stuff at the table to wander through the tall aisles of bookshelves full of paperbacks and hardcovers. He wasn't searching for anything in particular but let his attention stop on any strange or interesting titles that stood out amongst the others. He had picked up a book from the Health and Fitness section with a rather suggestive title when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

When Pidge's class would end early she would contact Keith first so he was falling into the habit of carrying his phone with him everywhere when he was at the school. It was an annoying habit to have but the least amount of time that he had to spend within the concrete walls was best for his mental health so he put up with it. His small, excited grin disappeared from his face when he saw a name he wasn't expecting appear on the screen of his phone in place of Pidge's as it continued to vibrate in his hand. Acxa's name overlapped a photo of her and Keith standing in front of their two cars. Keith looked stiff and uncomfortable but Acxa looked overwhelmingly happy. It was the strangest photo she ever took of the two of them but it was the one she insisted he used.

"Hello?" Keith answered when he finally pressed the phone to his ear.

A small inhale from the other end of the phone was audible before Acxa's voice that said, "Keith? Hi."

She sounded small and timid. It was almost as if she wasn't expecting to actually hear his voice. It wasn't surprising considering the last few times she had called Keith had been in class or away from his phone so he didn't answer. She had left one voicemail but it was short and shaky and barely even a message.

"How are you?" she asked a little bit louder. She didn't sound so nervous and for some reason that annoyed Keith. He wasn't even sure why he picked up the phone. He still wasn't there. Still wasn't past the anger and frustration, but he couldn't help it. She was still one of his closest friends and he had to admit he did miss her.

"What do you want, Acxa?" he asked bitterly. There was a small part of him that didn't want to sound so cold but the anger and frustration he felt was a lot more powerful than that tiny voice that was bullied into the back of his mind.

Acxa cleared her throat quietly. "I just wanted to call and see how you were. It's…been a while," she explained timidly and Keith felt a bit better hearing the nerves come back to her voice.

"I'm fine," he explained and set the Health and Fitness book he was still holding on one of the shelves next to him in a spot he knew it didn't go but he wasn't taking the time to find the spot. "Busy."

"I imagine. I heard you're in school," Acxa explained with a tiny chuckle. "Which is surprising considering you always talked about how stupid it was to pay for something that was virtually pointless for the future." She sniffled before she continued. "Remember? You talked about how it's the biggest overlooked scam in American history."

"I remember," Keith snapped bitterly. It was one of those positive, happy memories that was immediately overclouded by his frustration created by the whole reason he had done such an intense blackout against his friend.

Acxa hummed quietly. It was such a small sound but it pulled a bit at Keith's sympathy. He sighed heavily as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Keith, I'm sorry," she decided to say next and that only made his sympathy retreat back into his anger. "How—How is Shiro?"

Keith's hand dropped as his eyes snapped open. "Don't ask about him," he growled. "Just…don't."

"I just want to make sure he's alright," Acxa pressed sternly.

"Alright?" Keith's anger welled up and his voice grew louder. "He lost an arm, Acxa. He almost died!" he snapped. He had to move the phone away for a moment as he tried to catch his breath. His heart slammed itself repeatedly against his chest until he finally managed to calm it. "I don't want to do this now."

"Keith, can you just listen to me for a second?" Acxa asked desperately. "I know you're mad. I know you think that you can't forgive us all for what happened, but we need you. We want you back here with your family. Back where you belong. And I think it's been long enough. I think you've been mad long enough."

Keith scoffed loudly. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize my anger was only allotted a certain amount of time," he replied so coldly that even he shook.

"No, that's not—I'm sorry. Please, won't you just…come back?" Acxa practically begged. She was trying so hard and Keith was pretty sure it was only making things worst.

He closed his eyes again. He hadn't been able to figure it out, the reason why he didn't go back. He knew he could hold a grudge for a while but there was something in particular holding him back. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on and he was far too distracted to try to figure it out. "No, Acxa," he replied softly. His anger had simmered so it was manageable but he could still feel it under the surface of his makeshift calm. "Goodbye."

He hung up before he let her respond. He exhaled heavily and shoved the phone back into his pocket so he could head back to the table but any chance of focusing on his work was long gone. He couldn't stop jittering as he stared at the blurred words scrawled across his page. He groaned in frustration as he slammed his textbook shut. His hands slid slowly down his face and he decided he needed a walk a lot longer than just inside the library.

The chilled autumn air hit him as he moved across the quad that stretched between the college's buildings. The multicoloured trees that surrounded him made everything seem brighter as the setting sun hit the leaves to make the illusion that they were all on fire. His boots crunched against the newly fallen leaves scattered across the ground not gathered up by the groundskeepers yet. Each crunch was satisfying and made Keith's lips turn up slightly at the one corner.

He had been walking aimlessly along the paths that looped around the buildings but suddenly found himself stopping when he heard the muffled sound of a heavy bass that vibrated the large windows of a classroom in the art wing. His head had never turned so fast before towards something so weakly familiar. He couldn't see inside the large windows from the reflecting sun against the glass and that only peeked his curiosity even further into finding out who was listening to music at such a deafeningly loud volume. When he travelled through the art wing last he couldn't get the song that had been playing out of his head and even though he thought about it a few times, he never went back. Never sought out the music again, until the moment he stood outside and heard another song calling to him.

The loud music overlapped the quiet squeaking of the door as it swung shut behind Keith. He swallowed down the strange lump that had formed in his throat. The music was drawing him in again. His curiosity to see behind the door from last time made each step possible as he moved down the hall to turn the corner. The same door was cracked open like last time. A shadow passed by, blocking out the sun for a brief moment as Keith made his way over to stand rubbing his thumb along his fingers a few times. The lump of nerves was back in his throat. Why was he nervous? He shook his head a few times and finally grabbed the doorknob to slowly open it as he stepped into the room.

 _If you throw me a side eye,  
I'll let it slide by._

The room was full of easels and a small stage in the centre of it all. The music came from a phone plugged into a large speaker sitting on a table of brushes and palettes to Keith's left. To the right, a large canvas covered the entire wall with a half finished painting of a dancer stuck in the middle of an impressive pose bent backwards as she reached an arm over her head to try to touch her lifted leg as she balanced on the toes of her other foot. The long train of her flowing dress blew up around her as if it was dancing with her. The ladder in front of the wall creaked as it was tipped dangerously towards the canvas. A long, nimble arm worked with fluid motions to drag the paintbrush across the fabric where the outline of the dress curved up slightly.

 _Cause I know you'll be alright.  
Sooner or later._

The ladder tipped back when the weight on it shifted and accidentally overcompensated. Keith's eyes widened as he watched the ladder lean dangerously away from the wall to the point it couldn't be brought back.

"Fu—!"

"Watch it!" Keith shouted as he lunged forward.

 _I'll take all of your lowlights,  
And turn them to highlights._

The ladder crashed loudly against the floor and Keith's back hit painfully as the weight on top of him crushed his chest, knocking the scream out of him with whatever breath he had in his lungs. Sparks of pain exploded behind his eyelids from his aching muscles. "Are you alright?" the voice above him asked nervously.

Keith opened his eyes and the breath he managed to get back in his empty lungscaught halfway in his throat.

 _Sooner or later._

Looming above him was an olive skinned boy no older and maybe just a bit younger than him. He had tiny smudges and specks of different coloured paint scattered across the plain of skin over his cheeks but none of them were as vibrant as the oceans he carried in his eyes. They sparkled like sapphires full of worry as they looked over Keith's frozen expression as he was trying to comprehend his new found love he never knew he had before with water.

"Ey?" the boy said loudly over the music and the ringing in Keith's ears as he gently slapped the frozen boy's cheek a few times. Keith was becoming increasingly aware of the lack of space between him and the boy on top of him. Knee touching the inside of a thigh. Fingers brushing against a torso and an arm. The thumb from the hand that patted Keith's chin brushed accidentally against his jaw is it moved away. "You in there?" The boy smiled. It was so genuine and playful that Keith had to blink a few times just to make sure it was even real. "Nice catch, buddy."

Keith opened his mouth to respond with whatever would hopefully come out that wouldn't be just a jumbled mess like his mind was in, but he was stopped by the sudden uproar of laughter back towards the door and someone else cleared their throat. The music suddenly stopped as Keith tilted his head back to see Veronica standing just inside the room with the same boy who he collided with on his first day in the administration building.

"What the hell is happening?" Veronica managed through her laughter. Hunk rolled his eyes at her exaggerated amusement. The boy over Keith finally stood and he took the chance to push himself up to his feet.

"Veronica." Keith stopped. He quickly turned his head to stare confusingly at the boy standing next to him that echoed exactly what he said along with the confused expression on his face. Veronica's laughter erupted louder. "You know her?" Keith asked sternly.

The boy's hands perched on his hips as he leaned towards Keith slightly. There was something unsettling familiar about everything he did towards Keith. He felt like he had seen it before a few times. "Maybe I do," he replied teasingly. "What's it to you?"

Keith's eyebrows furrowed together tightly. He crossed his arms over his chest which seemed to make the brunet lean away slightly. He chose not to respond because he wasn't sure what to respond with. He wasn't sure why he had asked in the first place. He felt flustered and it was an automatic response.

"Jeez, stop it you two," Veronica finally managed to say when she was finally settled down from her laughter.

"Are you going to be alright?" Hunk turned his head slightly to ask.

Veronica cleared her throat as she nodded. "Yeah. Oh man, that was funny to watch," she explained with a loud sigh. Keith and the brunet standing in front of him kept their stances but both gave the girl their each confused and impatient expressions. "Oh, calm down. I'm getting to it," she said and took a few steps forward. "This is Keith. He's the guy from my classes that I told you about," she explained to the brunet who turned his gaze back to Keith with a smug grin on his face. Keith's eyes narrowed slightly once again. "Keith, this is Lance," Veronica continued, ignoring the obvious wordless exchange the two boys were having with each other despite only being a few feet from each other. "Lance is my little brother."

Keith instantly relaxed in his shoulders and face as he looked back and forth between the two siblings. Behind Veronica's glasses were the obvious features she shared with her brother that Keith hadn't caught initially. It was all in their eyes. Lance's were brighter but they were similar nonetheless in every other way.

"Are you surprised?" Veronica asked with a small tilt of her head.

Lance lifted his nose slightly to sniff the air. "Are those garlic knots?" he asked as he turned his head to face Hunk, finally acknowledging him as he lifted the takeout bag in his hand to shake it softly. "Ah! Sweet!"

"Did—Did you ever mention a brother?" Keith asked as Lance lost interest in anything happening with his sister and the new introduction she made.

"A few times I think," Veronica answered with a small grin.

Keith hummed quietly in his throat. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he quickly fished it out to check the message from Pidge. "Oh, I've got to go," he said and looked back up at Veronica. "I'll see you later."

Veronica nodded as he quickly moved for the door to pick up his backpack he had dropped when he lunged to try to save Lance. He paused when his gaze met with the brunet's who had a garlic knot pinched between his teeth and his eyebrow lifted quizzically. The moment was brief as a strange thought crossed Keith's mind. He didn't want to leave. But he shook that thought clear out of his mind before he quickly spun around to charge out of the room, slamming the classroom door shut behind him. He finally let his heavy, unsteady breaths out as he stood in the middle of the hallway. He didn't know why his heart raced in his chest. It must have been the adrenaline.

Lance swallowed the bit of garlic knot and used the remainder he held to point towards the closed door. "He's strange," he said and tossed the rest of the knot into his mouth.

"What the hell were you doing?" Veronica asked as she examined the knocked over ladder on the floor with confusion.

"I was working," Lance responded through a mouthful of food.

Hunk rolled his eyes and walked over to sit down on a nearby stool. He knew fully well they weren't leaving soon so he was going to rest his tired feet. Veronica shook her head and scoffed. "Lance, you have to be more careful," she turned her head slightly to snap.

Lance swallowed the food in his mouth to speak. "It was just an accident. Don't get so big sister on me," he said as he stared into his bag at the food inside. Veronica spun around on her heels to face her brother. "You worry more than ma does, with twice the nagging and half the pity." Footsteps thumped against the floor. Hunk stiffened in his seat and cleared his throat loudly but it fell on deaf ears as Lance continued. "I don't understand why you get so bent out of shape when I'm the one who's—ow!"

Lance had his hand inside the bag reaching for another garlic knot when Veronica closed the distance and smacked her brother on the side of the head. "You are an idiot," she hissed and spun around to stomp out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

The sigh from Hunk was long and low. He was wrong. They were going to be out sooner than he had anticipated. "You are an idiot," he repeated which made Lance snap his head to the side to glare at him.

"You're my best friend, Hunk. You're supposed to back me up here," he explained bitterly.

Hunk shook his head and stood with a grunt. "I am your best friend which means I am supposed to try to prevent you from doing stupid things and when you do those stupid things I'm supposed to remind you of why they were stupid," he explained with a soft smile. He gently patted Lance's shoulder who was frowning dramatically as he nibbled on a knot. "Don't worry. Someday you'll understand."

"Meanie," Lance muttered quietly between his nibbles.

"It's the only way you'll learn, unfortunately," Hunk responded and stepped around Lance to follow Veronica's lead out of the room. Lance sighed through his nose as he stared at the large canvas with the partially finished painting. He was still nibbling as his eyes moved quickly over the image until Hunk suddenly spoke up. "Can we go home now? I'm tired."

The image of Keith's hair splayed around his head like a dark halo as the sunlight streaked across his face suddenly jumped into Lance's mind. He had literally come out of nowhere and it was like an earthquake had managed to move its way through Lance's body without any warning. It nearly knocked him on his ass but he managed to catch himself before he fell. Metaphorically, of course.

He finally shoved the garlic knot into his mouth and nodded. "Yeah, let's go," he replied with a muffled voice by the food and finally moved.

* * *

 **Song:**

\- **Sooner or Later** by _MSTR ROGERS_ & _Inka Wood_


End file.
